Exeter City manager Terry Cooper made Chris Banks one of his first signings after being appointed manager in May 1988. Formerly with Port Vale, Chris played a single season for Exeter before a long career with Cheltenham Town with whom he won promotion to the Football League. 

Chris started as a junior with Port Vale, and after signing professional in December 1982, made 65 league appearances (scoring once) ahead of leaving Vale Park and signing for Exeter. Having made his Grecians debut on the opening day of the 1988/89 season, Chris’s only goal for the club came in the win over Peterborough United the following April. All told Chris started 43 league games that season and came on as substitute twice more. He also played three cup games.

After scoring, Chris took over as emergency goalkeeper during the game against Peterborough replacing Dave Walter. Given the game was played on 1 April Chris, with the help of Terry Cooper, played a prank by telling the local press that he was Gordon Banks’ (former Stoke and England goalkeeper) nephew: "We agreed to tell the press I was Gordon Banks' nephew. The local paper had the headline 'Gordon is my Uncle' and the report had this bit about 'goalkeeping is in his blood'”

Soon released by Exeter, Chris went part-time and signed for Bath City in the 1989 close season remaining at Twerton Park until moving to Southern League Cheltenham Town in August 1994. Rising to the Conference in 1997, Chris then helped the Gloucestershire club win promotion to the Football League in 1998-99 some ten years after he had last appeared at that level with Exeter. Chris eventually totalled 120 league outings for Cheltenham making his final appearances during 2001/02 when the club was promoted to the third-tier of English football. He then joined Stone Dynamoes, his home town club, before training as a physiotherapist and working in that capacity in Stoke City’s academy and, between 2019 and 2022, as head physiotherapist at Port Vale.