Description:
Interviews commercial loan applicants and makes credit decisions; processes loan applications; maintains customer relationships; manages a portfolio of commercial loans; and may coordinate some collection efforts. An officer with three or more years’ experience who is capable of handling all but the most complex assignments and accounts; works under general direction of a senior functional officer; may provide instructional guidance to junior officers.
Commercial Loan Officer Duties and Responsibilities
• Decision-makers must apply critical thinking to every application they review.
• Evaluate Loan Applications- carefully examine loan applications and verify financial information provided on the application to determine whether the business applying for the loan is capable of meeting monthly loan payments on time.
• Review Credit Information-must evaluate the credit history of the applicant. This requires finding all possible financial assets belonging to the company and evaluating their worth as it relates to the loan amount being requested.
• Approve Loans- Once a loan candidate has been assessed, the commercial loan officer will recommend approval or disapproval of the loan application based on the information provided by the business and the data they uncover during the application process.
• Supervise Loan Administrators- A commercial loan officer is often a supervisory position, which requires managing loan administrators and double-checking their loan paperwork for approval or disapproval of requested loans.
• Follow Up on Approved Loans- Once a loan has been approved and money given to a commercial client, the loan officer is responsible for making sure that loan payments are made on time. This may require making follow-up phone calls and checking in with borrowers to ensure they are paying off their line of credit. Should loan payments fail to be made regularly, loan officers may need to take action by reporting borrowers to collection agents.
Skills and Qualifications
• Mathematics – crunching numbers and going over financial statements is a big part of the commercial loan officer’s job, so they need a strong grasp of mathematics.
• Customer service – while commercial loan officers make their decisions based on what they see on paper, customer service is still a big part of the job because they often meet with applicants face to face.
• Analytical thinking – logic and critical thinking are essential to the commercial loan officer’s job because they must apply mathematical formulas to determine whether a company has the ability to pay back a requested loan. This requires putting personal feelings aside and relying on cold, hard numbers in order to make the best decisions for their financial institution.
• Leadership skills – because commercial loan officers often supervise loan associates, a background in leadership is very useful for this career path and desired by employers.
• Attention to detail – commercial loans involve a lot of paperwork, bank accounts, and data, which means loan officers need to be highly detail-oriented so they can properly analyze all the information without skipping over any financial details.
Education and Training
• Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Business Administration
