RBS Situational Judgment 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: You are new to RBS and a more senior colleague gives you advice that contradicts your training on data protection. What do you do?
- Follow your training and politely raise the discrepancy with your manager or compliance team (Correct answer)
- Follow the senior colleague's advice because they have more experience
- Ignore both and use your own judgment
- Report the colleague to HR immediately without investigating further
Correct answer: Follow your training and politely raise the discrepancy with your manager or compliance team
Regulatory compliance training takes precedence; the correct step is to follow policy and raise the discrepancy appropriately.
Question 2: A customer discloses they are struggling financially and mentions feeling hopeless. How should you respond?
- Listen empathetically, provide information about RBS's financial support services, and signpost to external mental health resources if appropriate (Correct answer)
- Quickly complete the banking transaction and move on to avoid a difficult conversation
- Tell the customer that financial problems are common and not to worry
- Immediately transfer the customer to a manager without engaging
Correct answer: Listen empathetically, provide information about RBS's financial support services, and signpost to external mental health resources if appropriate
Vulnerable customers must be handled with empathy, and staff should connect them with appropriate support while completing their needs.
Question 3: You are midway through serving a customer when you realize you have given them incorrect information about a fee. What should you do?
- Correct the information immediately, apologize for the error, and ensure the customer has the accurate details before proceeding (Correct answer)
- Continue the interaction and hope the customer does not notice the discrepancy
- Wait until the transaction is complete before mentioning the error
- Ask a colleague to take over without explaining the mistake to the customer
Correct answer: Correct the information immediately, apologize for the error, and ensure the customer has the accurate details before proceeding
Immediately correcting misinformation protects the customer and upholds the bank's obligation to provide accurate advice.
Question 4: Your team is under pressure to meet a quarterly sales target for credit cards, and a customer who is clearly in financial difficulty visits the branch. What do you do?
- Prioritize the customer's financial wellbeing and do not push a credit card product that is unsuitable for them (Correct answer)
- Offer the credit card because meeting the target is important for the team
- Avoid discussing any RBS products to stay safe
- Offer the credit card but with a very low limit to reduce risk
Correct answer: Prioritize the customer's financial wellbeing and do not push a credit card product that is unsuitable for them
RBS's conduct standards require that customer suitability always takes priority over sales targets, especially for vulnerable customers.
Question 5: A colleague tells you they have made a significant error on a customer account but plans to fix it quietly without reporting it. What is your response?
- Encourage the colleague to report the error through the proper incident reporting process and offer to support them in doing so (Correct answer)
- Keep the secret since it is not your mistake
- Report the colleague to senior management immediately without telling them first
- Help the colleague fix the error quietly to avoid both of you getting in trouble
Correct answer: Encourage the colleague to report the error through the proper incident reporting process and offer to support them in doing so
Banking regulations require errors affecting customer accounts to be reported; encouraging proper reporting protects the customer and the institution.
Question 6: You are asked to complete an urgent task by your manager but realize you lack the knowledge to do it correctly. What should you do?
- Be honest with your manager about your knowledge gap and ask for guidance or training before proceeding (Correct answer)
- Attempt the task anyway to avoid appearing incompetent
- Delegate the task to a colleague without telling your manager
- Decline the task entirely without explanation
Correct answer: Be honest with your manager about your knowledge gap and ask for guidance or training before proceeding
Admitting knowledge gaps before taking action prevents errors and shows professional integrity, especially in a banking environment.
You are new to RBS and a more senior colleague gives you advice that contradicts your training on data protection.
What do you do?