Chief Lending Officer

Date posted:

Department:

Lending

Location:

Long Island City (HQ) - Queens, NY

Description:

This position directs all aspects of lending operations. Significant oversight and leadership is directed towards the credit union’s loan growth strategy, lending portfolio performance, lending risk analysis and strategic business development. This position ensures lending activities result in maximum volume and asset quality, generates appropriate profit, and maintains a reasonable delinquency and loss ratio. Ensures conformity to UNFCU policy and compliance with regulatory and reporting requirements for all loan activities. Responsible for compliance with federal, state and NCUA regulations and laws and secondary market guidelines.

As a member of the Senior Management Team, the Chief Lending Officer participates in and assists with establishing and implementing the strategic direction and objectives of the credit union while serving as a resource in all aspects of lending.

Oversees, manages, and assumes responsibility for the effective and efficient administration of consumer, commercial and real estate lending functions as well as the overall management and quality of the lending portfolio. The Chief Lending Officer’s scope of responsibility includes strategic planning; policy development and changes; development of new business, markets, products and loan participation opportunities; management of the new business pipeline; and loan underwriting and processing. Works closely with Risk Management in establishing risk parameters and directs the formulation of the Credit Union’s loan policies and procedures to ensure overall quality of the organization’s lending portfolio.

Accountabilities:

*Assists Executive Management with long and short-term credit union planning, including developing a total lending strategy for the credit union. Leads the development of lending policies and procedures and ensures they complement organizational goals, including underwriting criteria, loan authority, structure requirements, pricing guidelines and account management. Sets goals for optimal loan portfolio mix and develops action plans to achieve those goals.

*Responsible for planning, organizing, and directing the credit union's lending activities, including residential, consumer and commercial loan services, loan servicing and lending operations.

*Ensures regulatory compliance with lending regulations and maintains effective controls and sound practices at all times. Monitors lending activities to ensure that staff operates in accordance with applicable laws and regulations, as well as organizational policies and procedures.

*Directs lending business development activities; identifies opportunities to increase loan origination volume in order to achieve defined loan growth objectives. Develops new business strategies while maintaining sound lending decisions and keeping delinquencies and loan loss to within industry norms. Makes recommendations for new lending procedures and products.

*Serves as a member of the Asset-Liability Committee (ALCO) responsible to evaluate, monitor, and approve practices relating to risk in the capital structure.

*Ensures satisfactory or higher ratings for all credit-related examinations by the NCUA and third party audit reviews.

*Monitors trends in production, overall asset quality, delinquencies and collections. Ensures the maintenance and analytics of statistics relative to loans issued, report data, delinquency follow-up and overall risk associated with the loan portfolio. Prepares reports for Executive Management, Board of Directors, various committees and/or regulatory agencies as required.

*Ensures files are being originated, processed, underwritten and closed in compliance with established procedures, secondary market, PMI guidelines and with regulations and laws; provides direction on loan policy interpretation and application.

*Participates on Pricing Committee and recommends loan pricing changes to ensure attainment of profit objectives.

*Directs the deployment and lending operations of remote Loan Production Offices to ensure quality loan production to achieve growth targets and effective sales management of outside Mortgage Representatives.

*Works collaboratively with other senior leaders and ensures collaboration between lending department staff and other departments.

*Performs all duties inherent to a managerial role: challenges and develops staff to be more effective, efficient, and satisfied with the work they perform for the credit union and its members; prepares and administers performance evaluations; interviews and selects candidates for employment. Promotes teamwork and cooperation within the lending unit and across the organization; utilizes coaching techniques to achieve desired performance level of staff; administers action plans as needed. Promotes and facilitates a strong service and sales environment.

Qualifications:

An incumbent in this position must possess a full range of expertise in mortgage and consumer lending regulations and secondary market and private mortgage insurance company guidelines, as well as thorough knowledge of consumer, commercial and mortgage loan products and collections related functions. An in-depth knowledge of lending theory, risk-based pricing, credit scoring, automated lending systems, collections, pricing strategies and portfolio risk analysis, with an emphasis in new business and loan portfolio management, is required.

A typical pathway of obtaining the requisite knowledge and skills is graduation with a Bachelor’s degree and 15 or more years financial services experience, with 10 or more years in progressively responsible roles in the credit/lending industry. MBA preferred. Experience with workouts, problem loans and restructuring and Allowance for Loan and Lease Losses (ALLL) analysis and methodology preferred.

This highly visible role requires the ability to connect and network effectively with people. Must possess the ability to operate independently at a fast pace, like variety, and handle multiple tasks. Excellent verbal and written communication skills required, including superb ability to communicate highly technical concepts effectively. Professional appearance, strong sales and service orientation, applicable PC and software proficiency and a willingness to work flexible hours desired.