Co-operative Bank Assessment Tests

Co-operative Bank Aptitude Tests: Free Practice Questions Situational Judgement Test

1. Question 1 of 10

   You are an onboarding analyst. Your team of three is down to two for a fortnight and your caseload has gone from twelve clients to nineteen. Four of the new ones have deadlines this week. Your team leader has asked everybody to “absorb it where you can”. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. List the four deadlines you cannot meet, take that to your team leader today with what you can cover, and ask which of the four should move.
   2. Reply to your team leader that the caseload is not realistic and ask for the extra seven clients to be reallocated somewhere else this week.
   3. Work to the four deadlines this week and leave the other fifteen clients entirely untouched until the fortnight is over.
   4. Hand the four clients with deadlines over to a colleague on another team, since your own caseload is full and somebody with spare capacity ought to be picking them up.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: A. List the four deadlines you cannot meet, take that to your team leader today with what you can cover, and ask which of the four should move.

   Least effective: D. Hand the four clients with deadlines over to a colleague on another team, since your own caseload is full and somebody with spare capacity ought to be picking them up.

   B: Hands the problem back whole: the team is two people, so there is nowhere obvious for seven clients to go, and no proposal comes with it.

   C: Protects the visible four: fifteen clients hear nothing for two weeks, and some of them will have needs that surface in that time.

   D: Passes the hardest cases to somebody with no history on them: four deadlines this week land with a colleague who has never seen the files, and the caseload problem is not raised with anybody who could fix it.

   The most effective response is to list the four deadlines you cannot meet, take that to your team leader today with what you can cover, and ask which should move: it accepts the instruction, does the analysis he cannot do from where he sits, and turns an impossible caseload into a specific choice between four dates. It beats replying that the caseload is not realistic and asking for the seven extra clients to be reallocated, because handing back seven with no proposal is not absorbing anything. It beats working to the four deadlines and leaving the other fifteen untouched, because fifteen clients going dark for a fortnight creates the next problem. The least effective response is handing the four clients with deadlines to a colleague on another team: the hardest cases go to somebody who has never seen them, in the week they are due, and the team leader who could have moved a date is never asked. That is offloading the problem rather than allocating it badly. The principle: when you cannot do it all, say which parts and say it while there is still a choice.

2. Question 2 of 10

   You are a personal banking assistant. A customer’s account will go overdrawn on Friday when a direct debit leaves, and charges will follow. The standard warning is an automated text. She told you last month that she finds texts confusing and misses them, and she is caring for her mother. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Telephone her today to explain the position, and leave the account preference as it is since the automated text is the standard for everybody.
   2. Write to her by post explaining the position, so she has it in a form she can read carefully rather than a message on a telephone.
   3. Send the automated text over to her in the usual way and leave it to the standard process, since that is what it is there for and the warning will have been given.
   4. Telephone her today, explain what will happen on Friday and what she can do about it, and note on the account that she prefers a call to a text.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: D. Telephone her today, explain what will happen on Friday and what she can do about it, and note on the account that she prefers a call to a text.

   Least effective: C. Send the automated text over to her in the usual way and leave it to the standard process, since that is what it is there for and the warning will have been given.

   A: Fixes this week and not next: the same problem recurs every time, because nothing about how she is contacted has changed.

   B: Chooses a channel slower than the deadline: Friday is two days away and post may not arrive in time to act on.

   C: Passes the customer to a process you already know does not reach her: the warning is technically issued, and she told you last month that she misses exactly this.

   The most effective response is to telephone her today, explain what will happen on Friday and what she can do about it, and note that she prefers a call to a text: a call reaches her before Friday, it explains what she can actually do, and the note means the next warning reaches her too. It beats writing to her by post, because post may miss Friday. It beats telephoning today but leaving the account preference as it is, because that guarantees a repeat. The least effective response is sending the automated text in the usual way: she is handed to a process you have been told does not work for her, so the warning is issued and not received. That is passing her to the process rather than choosing a slower or narrower channel. The principle: reach the customer by the route that actually reaches them, and record it.

3. Question 3 of 10

   You are a research assistant. A slide pack is needed by 6pm and the data you need sits in a system you do not have access to. The colleague whose login you have used before, with their knowledge, is out today. Requesting access properly takes two working days. Your manager is contactable. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Use your colleague's login to pull the data yourself, since they have let you do it before and the pack genuinely cannot be finished any other way today.
   2. Submit the access request today and tell whoever asked for the pack that it will follow in two days once the request has been processed.
   3. Tell your manager now that the data is behind an access request that takes two days, and ask whether somebody with access can pull it or the 6pm deadline can move.
   4. Build the pack from last quarter's figures and mark the slides clearly as indicative until the current data can be obtained later in the week.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Tell your manager now that the data is behind an access request that takes two days, and ask whether somebody with access can pull it or the 6pm deadline can move.

   Least effective: A. Use your colleague's login to pull the data yourself, since they have let you do it before and the pack genuinely cannot be finished any other way today.

   A: Uses another person's system access: the record will show them making the queries, which is exactly what the separate logins exist to prevent, and previous permission does not change that.

   B: Accepts a two-day slip without testing it: somebody with access could probably pull the figures in ten minutes, and that was never asked.

   D: Substitutes stale data for a decision: the pack is wanted at 6pm because somebody is deciding on it, and a label does not stop old numbers being read as current.

   The most effective response is to tell your manager now that the data is behind an access request that takes two days, and ask whether somebody with access can pull it or the deadline can move: the obstacle is real, she owns both the deadline and the resource, and there are two obvious ways out that neither of you can pick alone. It beats building the pack from last quarter’s figures marked as indicative, because figures presented at 6pm will be acted on as current. It beats submitting the access request and telling whoever asked that the pack follows in two days, because a slip is accepted before anybody has been asked for ten minutes of their access. The least effective response is using your colleague’s login to pull the data yourself: it puts your work under somebody else’s name in the system record, which is the one thing separate logins exist to make impossible. That is a breach of a control rather than a poor way of hitting a deadline. The principle: take the blocked task to the person who can unblock it, rather than round the control.

4. Question 4 of 10

   You are a personal banking assistant. You notice a colleague has set up a customer’s standing order for £180 rather than the £810 the form says. The first payment goes tonight. Your colleague is on the telephone and is sensitive about mistakes. The customer will be short if it goes out wrong. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Mention to the team that he has transposed the figures again, and wait to see whether somebody who gets on with him better is willing to tell him.
   2. Correct the standing order yourself now, and mention it to him afterwards once the payment has gone out safely tonight.
   3. Wait until he is off the telephone and tell him then, so that he is not interrupted in the middle of a call with a customer.
   4. Write him a note now saying the form says £810 and the order says £180, and ask him to check it before tonight since the first payment goes then.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: D. Write him a note now saying the form says £810 and the order says £180, and ask him to check it before tonight since the first payment goes then.

   Least effective: A. Mention to the team that he has transposed the figures again, and wait to see whether somebody who gets on with him better is willing to tell him.

   A: Talks about him instead of to him: the standing order is still wrong, the payment still goes tonight, and the only thing that has actually happened is that the team has heard about it.

   B: Changes a colleague's work without telling him: he may have had a reason, and the first he knows is that his entry has been altered.

   C: Times it for his comfort against a hard deadline: the payment goes tonight and nobody knows how long the call will last.

   The most effective response is to write him a note now saying the form says £810 and the order says £180, and ask him to check before tonight: it puts the two figures in front of the person who owns the entry, does not interrupt a live call, and names the deadline that makes it urgent. It beats correcting the standing order yourself and mentioning it afterwards, because altering somebody’s work without a word invites the next error. It beats waiting until he is off the telephone to tell him, because a call of unknown length is not something to bet a payment on. The least effective response is mentioning to the team that he has transposed the figures again and waiting for somebody else to tell him: it makes a correctable slip into a remark about him, and nothing about tonight’s payment changes. That is personalising it rather than mistiming it. The principle: take it straight to the person who can fix it, with the deadline attached.

5. Question 5 of 10

   You are a reporting analyst. A return that goes to the firm’s largest client is due at noon, and the contract charges the firm for a late or incomplete one. One figure is still missing. The approved route is a signed data extract from another team, which takes a day. The figure is also on a dashboard that is not an approved source for this return. Your manager is in a meeting until 11:30. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Put a note to your manager now setting out the gap, the two routes and the noon deadline, so they can decide at 11:30 with everything in front of them.
   2. Submit the return at noon with the figure left blank, and follow up with the missing number once the signed extract arrives tomorrow.
   3. Interrupt your manager's meeting now to get a decision, since a regulator deadline at noon outranks whatever else is being discussed in there this morning.
   4. Take the figure from the dashboard and put it in the return, since the number will be the same either way and the deadline is the thing that actually matters here.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: A. Put a note to your manager now setting out the gap, the two routes and the noon deadline, so they can decide at 11:30 with everything in front of them.

   Least effective: D. Take the figure from the dashboard and put it in the return, since the number will be the same either way and the deadline is the thing that actually matters here.

   B: Files an incomplete return without asking: whether a gap or a late charge is the better outcome on a contracted return is a decision above your level.

   C: Escalates before there is anything to decide with: the meeting ends at 11:30, which still leaves half an hour, and the options can be set out first.

   D: Decides which rules count: an approved-source rule exists precisely so a regulator-facing figure can be traced, and a deadline is not a reason for one person to set it aside alone.

   The most effective response is to put a note to your manager now setting out the gap, the two routes and the noon deadline, so she can decide at 11:30 with everything in front of her: the decision is genuinely hers, 11:30 leaves time, and a written note means she decides on the facts rather than a doorway summary. It beats submitting the return at noon with the figure left blank, because choosing a gap over a late charge is not a junior call. It beats interrupting her meeting now to get a decision, because half an hour is enough and the interruption buys nothing. The least effective response is taking the figure from the dashboard and putting it in the return: an unapproved source goes into a return the client relies on, on one person’s judgement that the number is probably the same. That is setting aside a stated control rather than escalating badly. The principle: when the only route to the deadline breaks a rule, the deadline is somebody else’s decision.

6. Question 6 of 10

   You are a research assistant. The team’s shared model has an error in one formula that overstates a total by about 2%. You know how to fix it. Four colleagues have live client work open in copies of that model, and the model is version controlled by another team. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Fix the formula in your own copy only, and say nothing to anybody else since their work is theirs to check.
   2. Tell the owning team and your four colleagues today what the error is and what it does, and let the owning team issue a corrected version properly.
   3. Correct the formula in the shared model yourself this afternoon, so that everybody is working from the right figures from now on without any fuss.
   4. Raise it at the team meeting in a fortnight's time, when the owning team is present and the change can be discussed properly with everybody in the room at once.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: B. Tell the owning team and your four colleagues today what the error is and what it does, and let the owning team issue a corrected version properly.

   Least effective: C. Correct the formula in the shared model yourself this afternoon, so that everybody is working from the right figures from now on without any fuss.

   A: Keeps the fix to yourself: four people continue to produce client work with a 2% overstatement you have already identified.

   C: Changes a controlled artefact outside its control: four colleagues' open work shifts under them mid-task, and the change has no version, no notice and no owner.

   D: Delays a live error: a fortnight of client work goes out on a formula you know is wrong.

   The most effective response is to tell the owning team and your four colleagues today what the error is and what it does, and let the owning team issue a corrected version: everybody exposed hears today, and the correction is made by the people who own the version history. It beats fixing the formula in your own copy and saying nothing, because four colleagues keep shipping a known error. It beats raising it at the team meeting in a fortnight, because that is a long time for a live overstatement. The least effective response is correcting the formula in the shared model yourself this afternoon: a controlled model is edited outside its control while four people have work open in it, so their figures move mid-task with nothing to explain why. That is bypassing the control rather than acting too narrowly or too slowly. The principle: tell everyone exposed today, and let the owner make the change.

7. Question 7 of 10

   You are a branch adviser. You realise you gave a customer the wrong overdraft rate last week: you said 19% and it is 24%. He has since applied for it. The paperwork he signed shows the correct rate and he may never notice the difference. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Let your own mistake stand now that the paperwork is signed, since nobody has queried the rate and raising it would only unsettle a customer who is perfectly happy.
   2. Telephone him today, tell him you quoted the wrong rate, confirm what the real one is, and check that he still wants to go ahead on that basis.
   3. Post him a copy of the rate card with the correct figure highlighted on it, so he can see the right rate without having an awkward conversation about the mistake.
   4. Tell your manager what happened and ask her to decide whether the customer needs to be contacted about the difference in the rate.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: B. Telephone him today, tell him you quoted the wrong rate, confirm what the real one is, and check that he still wants to go ahead on that basis.

   Least effective: A. Let your own mistake stand now that the paperwork is signed, since nobody has queried the rate and raising it would only unsettle a customer who is perfectly happy.

   A: Hides your own error behind his signature: he agreed to something on a figure you gave him, and the only person who knows the two do not match has decided he does not need to.

   C: Corrects without owning: a highlighted rate card does not tell him he was given a wrong figure or invite him to change his mind.

   D: Escalates a decision you can make: telephoning a customer to correct your own quote is within your gift, and it delays a call he should get today.

   The most effective response is to telephone him today, tell him you quoted the wrong rate, confirm the real one, and check that he still wants to go ahead: he made a decision on a number you gave him, the gap is five points, and only a direct call lets him reconsider. It beats posting him a rate card with the correct figure highlighted, because that does not tell him he was misinformed. It beats telling your manager and asking her to decide whether he needs contacting, because correcting your own quote does not need authorising. The least effective response is letting the mistake stand now that the paperwork is signed: he keeps a product he agreed to on a wrong figure, and the paperwork is used as the reason he need not be told. That is concealment rather than an incomplete or slow correction. The principle: he decided on your number, so he is owed the correction directly.

8. Question 8 of 10

   You are a personal banking assistant. A customer needs a letter confirming her account has “always been in good standing” for a landlord. She had two unpaid direct debits eighteen months ago. She is otherwise a good customer and is plainly anxious about the tenancy. The letter is one you can produce today. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Tell her the bank does not provide letters of this kind and leave it there, so that nothing inaccurate goes out on headed paper.
   2. Write the letter saying the account has always been in good standing, since two missed direct debits eighteen months ago are hardly what a landlord means by that.
   3. Offer her a letter setting out exactly what her account has done, explain that you cannot write "always", and suggest she gives the landlord the full picture herself.
   4. Write the letter covering only the last twelve months, since everything in that period is clean and the letter is then perfectly accurate.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Offer her a letter setting out exactly what her account has done, explain that you cannot write "always", and suggest she gives the landlord the full picture herself.

   Least effective: B. Write the letter saying the account has always been in good standing, since two missed direct debits eighteen months ago are hardly what a landlord means by that.

   A: Refuses the whole request to avoid the hard part: a factual letter would genuinely help her, and she leaves with nothing.

   B: Certifies something untrue on the firm's headed paper: a landlord relies on it, and the word "always" is exactly the part that is false.

   D: Chooses the window that gives the answer: every fact in it is true, and the period was picked precisely because of what it leaves out.

   The most effective response is to offer her a letter setting out exactly what her account has done, explain that you cannot write always, and suggest she gives the landlord the full picture herself: it gives her something real to use, is honest about the word she cannot have, and leaves the disclosure with the person whose tenancy it is. It beats telling her the bank does not provide letters of this kind, because a factual letter is both possible and useful. It beats writing the letter covering only the last twelve months, because choosing the window to exclude the problem is a way of misleading with true sentences. The least effective response is writing that the account has always been in good standing: the firm certifies in writing something it knows to be false, to a third party who will act on it. That is a false record rather than an unhelpful or selective one. The principle: give them the true document, and be clear about the word you cannot write.

9. Question 9 of 10

   You are a customer service adviser. You and a colleague set up a daily handover at 2pm and run it together. She disagreed with you sharply in front of the team on Monday and it has been awkward since. Nobody else attends, and the afternoon shift works from what comes out of it. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Stop turning up to the handover so that you do not have to face her every afternoon, and leave the afternoon shift to work out for themselves that it has stopped.
   2. Keep going to the handover and say nothing at all about Monday, on the basis that these things fade if nobody picks at them.
   3. Ask your team leader to take the daily handover over from the two of you entirely, without explaining to her that Monday is the reason you would rather not be running it.
   4. Keep going to the handover, and tell her plainly that Monday is finished as far as you are concerned so that it does not sit between you every afternoon.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: D. Keep going to the handover, and tell her plainly that Monday is finished as far as you are concerned so that it does not sit between you every afternoon.

   Least effective: A. Stop turning up to the handover so that you do not have to face her every afternoon, and leave the afternoon shift to work out for themselves that it has stopped.

   A: Withdraws from a shared commitment to avoid somebody: the afternoon shift loses the handover it works from, and the people who pay for Monday are the ones who were not in the room.

   B: Waits out an atmosphere: the handover keeps running and both of you keep having it in a silence neither can break.

   C: Hands off a working arrangement without the reason: your team leader inherits it not knowing why, and the disagreement is still there underneath.

   The most effective response is to keep going to the handover and tell her plainly that Monday is finished as far as you are concerned: the handover matters to a shift that was not part of the argument, and saying it is closed is the smallest thing that lets both of you carry on. It beats keeping going and saying nothing at all about Monday, because an unspoken disagreement makes every handover harder. It beats asking your team leader to take the handover over without explaining why, because handing it upward without the reason solves nothing and loses the arrangement. The least effective response is stopping turning up to the handover so you do not have to face her: a commitment you set up yourself is dropped to avoid somebody, and the afternoon shift finds out by missing it. That is withdrawal as payback rather than an awkward or evasive response. The principle: never let the people outside the argument pay for it.

10. Question 10 of 10

    You are an assurance trainee. Your senior has told you to drop a test she says the client “sorted out verbally”. Firm policy is that evidence goes on the file. She is the person you report to, she reviews your work, and she has been supportive. The file is signed off next Tuesday. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

    1. Assure her that the test is complete and the evidence is on the file, and leave it as it is so that nobody has to reopen the question before Tuesday.
    2. Ask her directly to point you at what she was told and by whom, so you can put it on the file, and say you are not comfortable leaving it with nothing recorded.
    3. Do as she asked and drop the test, but write a note in your own records that you were told to drop it, so your own position is documented if it ever comes up.
    4. Take it to the engagement partner this week, since a missing test on a file being signed on Tuesday is exactly what a partner should know about.
    Show the answer

    Most effective: B. Ask her directly to point you at what she was told and by whom, so you can put it on the file, and say you are not comfortable leaving it with nothing recorded.

    Least effective: A. Assure her that the test is complete and the evidence is on the file, and leave it as it is so that nobody has to reopen the question before Tuesday.

    A: Tells your reviewer something untrue: she signs a file believing a test was done, and the fabrication is now hers to defend as well as yours.

    C: Documents rather than resolves: the file still lacks the evidence, and a private note protects you and nobody else.

    D: Escalates before asking: she has given a reason, you have not tested it, and going straight past her is hard to walk back if the answer is innocent.

    The most effective response is to ask her directly to point you at what she was told and by whom so you can put it on the file, and say you are not comfortable leaving it with nothing recorded: it treats her explanation as probably genuine, asks for the thing policy requires, and says where you stand without making it an accusation. It beats taking it to the engagement partner this week, because going over her before asking is unrecoverable if her answer is fine. It beats dropping the test but writing a note in your own records, because a private note leaves the file exactly as wrong as before. The least effective response is assuring her the test is complete and the evidence is on the file: your reviewer is told something untrue and signs on the strength of it. That is a false statement to the person relying on you, a different kind of wrong from the other two, which at least leave the facts intact. The principle: ask the person first, plainly, for the thing the policy needs.