LaSalle Bank Reviews

Pros

Competent Management with alot of experience

Cons

Slow decision making can lead to delayed implementation of new procedures

Advice to Senior Management

Include others in your decisions

Pros

Hopefully, legislation will require transparency and respectability will come back to the profession.

Cons

Too many individuals prefer to ask for foregiveness instead of obtaining permission.

Advice to Senior Management

Take ethics seriously.

Pros

Great local bank with great local community relationships. The benefits of working at a global bank subsidiary with the freshness of working within the local market.

Cons

Senior management are established in their positions and approach to projects and banking which slows the dynamic, leading-edge thinking to keep the company moving forward.

Advice to Senior Management

Continue to work from the bank's strengths in associate development and local market impact. Find new ways to encourage and develop forward-thinking managers and teams.

Pros

There was a great deal of emphasis placed on training in the retail management training program that I was a part of.

Cons

There were limited opportunities within my department to apply for jobs in other departments. I was better suited for a smaller organization at that point in my career

Advice to Senior Management

Unfortunately the bank has since been sold, but otherwise I think that it was difficult for many of the long term employees to transition from a regional bank to a global entity.

Pros

Salary was probably pretty competitive to other big banks. Benefits typically better...for example, LaSalle was one of the few banks that paid between 80% to 100% of MBA tuition. Career advancement typically seemed fair and abundant, although whether or not you had a supportive manager does make a big difference.

Cons

typical big bank issues: bureaucracy, etc.

Advice to Senior Management

not applicable, since LaSalle Bank has now been taken over by Bank of America.

Pros

I enjoyed my time at LaSalle Bank very much. It was an exciting place to work and well known in the Chicagoland area. I liked working for a larger company with historical roots in the local area.

Cons

Things changed quickly when Bank of America purchased LaSalle. It was not the same environment anymore.

Advice to Senior Management

n/a

Pros

Health plan was AWESOME!

Training seemed thorough/informational.

Bosses actually seemed to care about people

Clearly specified what you needed to do to move up in the company

Cons

Micromanagement (timed bathroom breaks & lunches, phone calls listened to, etc)

Tons of pressure to sell when focus is supposed to be on customer.

Advice to Senior Management

I understand the point of timing everyone's movements, because you want to make sure you;re not wasting money, but you have got to know that being micromanaged is demoralizing, and doesn't give people the "power" to do their job.

Pros

I worked in 3 different groups at LaSalle over the course of over eight years. I was very happy there. I left for what I thought was a good opportunity (which was not). The compensation was great. They definitely fired people who were not cutting it so the accountability was there. Although BNYM hired many of those who did get let go from LaSalle.

Cons

I do think the compensation for some people who did not prove themselves was definitely inflated. The group I was in specifically was extremely large so recongnition was hard to come by.

Advice to Senior Management

Most of the management from this group left and formed a small startup company. The managmenet is now under B of A so I cannot speak to how that is going now.

Pros

Strong brand name in chosen market with a high degree of customer focus. Compensation and benefits were above average. Strong financial systems and very good analytical tools.

Cons

Foreign owned. Executive management competancy and leadership was not as good as it could have been. The company talked about a commitment to work-life balance but did not live up to it. Organization tended to be in a constant state of flux with numerous reorganizations. Opportunities to move into different roles were limited and the criteria for promotion/title changes were not consistent across functions or even within functions. Communication within company was not as good as it could have been.

Advice to Senior Management

Increase strategic focus and improve executive leadership. More consistent criteria for promotion across the organization.

Pros

Work life balance is very important. You get excellent hands on support from your managers. Flexible schedules are OK if it makes sense to management. Benefits are above average. Retirement package is good with an employer matched 401k and a pension.

Cons

Pay is a bit lower than other employers in industry. Sometimes middle management can come off as incompetent, which is an obious by product of "politics." In the retail line of business, customers are allowed to walk all over branch employees (in regards to NSF fees, etc.) So much time is wasted on things that do not profit the bank.

Advice to Senior Management

Pay more to retain the best talent! I know so many people people who have been headhunted for a lot more pay.