Credit Officer, SBA Lending

The SBA Credit Officer executes credit risk management strategies for the SBA Lending division, ensuring strong credit quality, sound loan structures, effective ongoing monitoring, and adherence to bank credit policy and applicable SBA program requirements. This role provides strategic oversight of credit and risk activities and partners closely with SBA Lending leadership to support profitable, well-structured borrower relationships. 

• Executes and upholds the Bank's credit policies within SBA Lending, ensuring consistent application of credit standards and applicable SBA program requirements across lending relationships.


• Provides credit oversight and guidance on SBA 7(a) and 504 loan requests, including complex or higher-risk transactions, evaluating the adequacy of underwriting, loan structure, repayment capacity, collateral, eligibility, and overall credit risk.


• Reviews and provides departmental credit approval or recommendation, within delegated authority, for credit packages prepared by the underwriting team before submission to the appropriate designated approval authority.


• Partners with SBA Lending sales, operations, and senior leadership to support strategic growth while maintaining strong credit discipline and appropriate balance between business objectives and risk.


• Cultivates industry, client, and internal relationships to monitor market conditions, anticipate regulatory and SBA program changes, and gather insights that support informed credit decisions.


• Develops, analyzes, and delivers reporting to Loan Committee, the Board of Directors, and senior leadership, providing meaningful insights into credit quality, portfolio trends, concentrations, emerging risks, and SBA program compliance.


• Oversees the ongoing credit quality of the SBA portfolio, including borrower performance, covenant and reporting compliance, collateral considerations, loan modifications and servicing activity, and other factors that may impact the Bank's credit exposure or SBA guaranty.


• Identifies emerging risks, trends, or deterioration in borrower performance and recommends appropriate action plans, credit adjustments, servicing strategies, or exit strategies, promptly escalating material concerns to upline credit management.


• Ensures SBA credit activities are conducted in accordance with Bank credit standards and applicable SBA program requirements, including eligibility, underwriting, loan structure, documentation, collateral, guaranty, closing, and servicing requirements.


• Provides guidance and direction on escalated credit, eligibility, structuring, closing, and servicing matters and partners with SBA Lending teams to resolve issues that could impact credit quality, compliance, or preservation of the SBA guaranty.


• Contributes to credit policy refinement, underwriting standards, workflow optimization, and process modernization to improve efficiency, consistency, and risk oversight.


• Provides leadership, coaching, and development to SBA credit staff, promoting sound credit judgment, consistent underwriting standards, and effective risk identification and escalation.


• Other duties as assigned.

• Bachelor's degree in Business or a related field required. Accounting or Finance degree strongly preferred.


• 7 or more years’ experience in SBA lending, including significant experience underwriting SBA 7(a) and 504 loans and demonstrated expertise evaluating complex commercial credit transactions. Prior credit leadership, management, or approval authority experience strongly preferred.


• Demonstrated knowledge of SBA lending, including credit underwriting, eligibility, loan structuring, closing, servicing, and guaranty requirements applicable to the bank's SBA portfolio.


• Ability to interface effectively and professionally with senior and executive-level management.


• Ability to communicate technical information clearly, both verbally and in writing, to technical and non-technical audiences.


• Excellent judgment and decision-making skills, with the ability to effectively resolve escalated concerns from staff and stakeholders.


• Excellent PC skills, including Microsoft Office products and relevant custom applications and systems.


• Excellent analytical, time management, organizational, and problem-solving skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities in a deadline-driven environment.


• Self-motivated with strong initiative, accountability, and attention to detail.
  
   

The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by individuals in, or assigned to, the above position and are not intended to be construed as an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties and skills required, and may be changed at the discretion of the Company.