I had an initial discussion with HR by phone and then had an in person interview with several members of the project team at once regarding my background and previous experience.

In a nutshell -- Within 8 days I had a telephone interview and an in-person interview with 2 people. An offer was made within a week and then there was a long wait for the background check. In fact I received notification that I had passed the background check long before before the bank notified me of the same. I suspect that HR is understaffed.