Loan Officers

QUALIFICATIONS

A Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration (BBA) in finance, business administration, public administration, or a related field, or a Bachelor’s degree in engineering accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET); A Master’s degree – MBA Finance would be an added plus; along with banking/ lending study programs or related certifications like the Certified Mortgage Examiner (CME), Certified Commercial Loan Officer (CCLO), Certified Mortgage Banker (CMB), Certified Mortgage Servicer (CMS) etc.; encompassing at least 4-year requisite study and practice credit hours in the area or field of banking, finance & lending; combined with – On the Job Training (OJT) programs, Apprenticeships, Loan Officer Workforce Job Training or Experience; covering work topics including banking, lending and mortgage fundamentals, concepts and principles, banking and mortgage operations, lending cycle, loan origination and loan servicing, customer service, local, state, and federal loan regulations, loan proposals and contracts, loan eligibility criteria, financial metrics, ratios & indicators, repayment schedules, loan disbursements, recovery procedures, delinquencies and write-offs, prepayments, interest waiver, business economics, business laws, industry and markets, finance & accounts, entrepreneurship, e-commerce, business math, business analytics, project management, processes, interest cycle, budgeting, MIS & Banking Computer applications, analytical & statistical reporting etc.

AVERAGE ANNUAL PAY
(Credits: www.payscale.com)

PROJECTED GROWTH
(Credits: www.bls.gov)

Loan Officers is an exciting career, in which employment is expected to grow at a steady 4 percent from 2019 to 2029.

SKILLS/ TRAITS NEEDED

Loan officers must possess deep financial knowledge of loans & mortgage finance products and lending cycle, loan origination and loan servicing; great listening skills, adaptability, problem-solving, critical thinking, analytical & computation skills to analyze, determine and establish the corporate or retail customer or borrower’s net-worth and credit-worthiness; motivation, and convincing abilities, transparency, trust, and impeccable integrity. A quintessential multi-tasker, they need to be “always switched on” result-oriented “go-getters”; an excellent negotiator and communicator with strong business acumen, great collaborative and networking skills, who do regular customer and competition analysis to ensure staying ahead of competitors; and are up-to-date with financial laws, statutory lending rules & regulations, policies, processes, procedures, requirements, documentation, mortgage loans finance options, financial ratios & metrics, interest rates, risk mitigation & management, and real estate and asset financing economics; to conduct above board “authorized” & “regularized” loan and mortgage transactions. Also, they must track the emerging financial & economic trends, be measurement & data-driven, ethical, accountable, maintain confidentiality, and need to have a strong “Need, Urgency & Demand Perception”; besides being proactive, people-centric & research-oriented individuals, providing excellent customer service; with a cool temperament, reliance, memory, imagination, enthusiasm, trust, strong conviction, planning, and execution; coupled with strong decision-making, with excellent verbal & written communication and interpersonal/ soft skills; self-learning abilities, managerial skills, ability to motivate and influence customer decisions & follow-up, time management, people & stakeholder management, delegation, prioritization, presence of mind, creativity and innovation; an open mind with an aptitude for research, patience, persuasiveness, perseverance, persistence & presence. They must be detail-oriented & self-organized with a “can-do attitude” and a strong passion for their work. Meeting people, strategizing, being sales-oriented and an avid, effective and influential presenter; for convincing interested parties, and striking lucrative & profitable lending and mortgage finance deals, for meeting the lending and profitability targets of the bank or financial institution; and having a strong business or industry contacts are pivotal to this profession.

WORK FUNCTIONS

Loan officers arrange home loans, business loans, individual loans, and other credit & mortgage finance options; they research, network & find corporate or retail borrowers to lend to – for the bank, mortgage company, or financial institution they work for; presenting a compelling proposition and justification, with alluring interest rates to the borrowers; through phone calls, chats, face-to-face meetings, presentations, seminars, webinars, discussions, or online. A typical day of a Loan Officer may involve, planning, preparing agendas, writing loan proposals, interviewing loan applicants, reading & interpreting & gaining customer insights through the borrower’s bank & financial statements, preparing financial ratios & metrics, determining loan eligibility for customers; accepting or rejecting loans applications, examining mortgage collaterals, processing loans, preparing presentations, repayment schedules, loan contracts, loan disbursements, updating customer loan records, documentation, customer communication, and sales pitches; overseeing lending transactions, client presentations, marketing & promotion, striking winning conversations, negotiating and managing loan offers culminating into lucrative & profitable lending deals with the borrowers; They give sales pitches and trusted advice to the borrowers, articulating, describing, and selling the benefits of the various mortgage & financing options, to strike and close a “win-win” deal; getting the necessary approvals and regularizing the transactions with higher authorities, risk mitigation and management; suggesting best financing options, soliciting borrower commitments, explaining documents and disclosures to their clients and gaining complete trust and utmost customer satisfaction; processing loan disbursements till final recovery and repayments – besides dealing with delinquencies and write-offs, prepayments and interest waivers; thus responsible for completing the lending cycle – end-to-end. Additionally, they may also be involved in “inter-bank” lending, risk underwriting, risk management, strategy, tracking competition, statistical analysis & reporting, training & mentoring juniors, besides being trusted client advisors. They get in touch with all stake-holders by researching and profiling them, establishing alliances with third parties like builders, vehicle manufacturers & sellers, and gaining the confidence of potential borrowers & mortgagors; constantly building & maintaining customer loyalty, contacts, and relationships with all stakeholders; especially those who have transacted with them in the past; to achieve the organizational lending targets, besides sales, revenue Compounded Annual Growth Rate (CAGR), revenues & profitability, and Return on Investments (ROI) targets. They generally work with banks or mortgage companies, and other financial institutions.