Bankes was moved into the Select Group 1 referee pool ahead of the 2019–20 campaign after joining Select Group 2 three seasons prior. On 31 August 2019, Bankes refereed his first Premier League game between Leicester City and Bournemouth and issued a total of four yellow cards throughout the game. On 22 February 2020, Bankes showed his first Premier League red card to Newcastle United player Valentino Lazaro after Crystal Palace forward Wilfred Zaha, who was through on goal.