Director of Underwriting

NewtekOne®, Your Business Solutions Company®, is a financial holding company, which along with its bank and non-bank consolidated subsidiaries, provides a wide range of business and financial solutions under the Newtek® brand to the small- and medium-sized business ("SMB") market. Since 1999, Newtek has provided state-of-the-art, cost-efficient products and services and efficient business strategies to SMB relationships across all 50 states to help them grow their sales, control their expenses, and reduce their risk.

Newtek's and its subsidiaries' business and financial solutions include: banking (Newtek Bank, N.A.), Business Lending, Electronic Payment Processing, Technology Solutions (Cloud Computing, Data Backup, Storage and Retrieval, IT Consulting), eCommerce, Accounts Receivable Financing & Inventory Financing, Insurance Solutions, Web Services, and Payroll and Benefits Solutions.

The Director of Underwriting is responsible for leading the Bank's commercial underwriting function, ensuring the consistent delivery of high-quality credit decisions across SBA, Commercial Real Estate (CRE), and Commercial & Industrial (C&I) lending. The Director oversees a team of Credit Managers and is accountable for underwriting quality, workflow efficiency and production, policy adherence, and talent development.

Reporting directly to the Deputy Chief Credit Officer, this position serves as a strategic leader within Credit Administration, partnering closely with Business Development, Portfolio Management, Loan Operations, and Executive Management to support profitable loan growth while maintaining a disciplined approach to credit risk management. The Director ensures underwriting practices align with the Bank's credit philosophy, risk appetite, regulatory expectations, and all applicable SBA and commercial lending requirements.

Essential Functions and Responsibilities: (other duties may be assigned as needed)

Leadership & Management:

• Lead, mentor, and develop a team of Credit Managers responsible for reviewing and presenting SBA, Commercial Real Estate (CRE), and Commercial & Industrial (C&I) credit requests and managing underwriters.


• Establish departmental goals, performance expectations, and service standards while fostering a culture of accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement.


• Manage staffing, workflow allocation, succession planning, and employee development initiatives.


• Promote consistency in underwriting practices and credit decision-making across all commercial lending portfolios.

Underwriting Oversight:

• Direct the underwriting and credit approval process for SBA, CRE, and C&I lending opportunities.


• Review and present complex commercial credit relationships, including owner-occupied and investor commercial real estate, operating lines of credit, equipment financing, acquisition financing, and other commercial lending structures.


• Manage underwriting pre-qualification process, pipeline and production.


• Maintain consistency in underwriting quality, documentation, and risk assessment across all commercial loan types.

Credit Risk Management:

• Partner with the Deputy Chief Credit Officer to monitor portfolio quality, underwriting trends, policy exceptions, concentration risk, and emerging credit issues across the commercial portfolio.


• Recommend enhancements to underwriting standards, credit policy, risk rating methodologies, and portfolio management practices.


• Support the development and implementation of enterprise credit risk initiatives and underwriting best practices.

Cross-Functional Collaboration:

• Participate in Credit Committee meetings and present complex lending relationships.


• Collaborate with Portfolio Management, Loan Operations, and Credit Administration to ensure seamless execution throughout the loan lifecycle.


• Serve as a trusted advisor to executive leadership on commercial credit matters and underwriting strategy

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Minimum of 10 years of progressive commercial banking credit underwriting experience, including significant experience with SBA, Commercial Real Estate (CRE), and Commercial & Industrial (C&I) lending.


• Minimum of 5 years of leadership experience managing commercial underwriting or credit teams.


• Demonstrated expertise in analyzing complex commercial credit relationships across multiple industries and lending structures.


• Expert knowledge of commercial credit underwriting principles, SBA lending requirements, Commercial Real Estate (CRE) lending, and Commercial & Industrial (C&I) lending.


• Strong understanding of commercial financial statement analysis, global cash flow, debt service coverage, collateral analysis, loan structuring, guarantor analysis, and commercial risk assessment.


• Thorough knowledge of commercial banking regulations, lending compliance requirements, and sound credit administration practices.


• Demonstrated ability to balance prudent credit risk management with strategic loan growth objectives in a fast paced environment.


• Exceptional leadership, communication, decision-making, and relationship management skills.

EDUCATION & CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS:

• Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, Business Administration, Economics, or a related field required.


• Master's degree in Business Administration (MBA), Finance, Accounting, or a related discipline preferred.


• Formal commercial credit training through a recognized banking or financial services program is preferred.


• Professional certifications such as Credit Risk Certification (CRC), Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), Certified Public Accountant (CPA), Risk Management Association (RMA) Credit Certification, or other relevant banking or credit credentials are a plus.

Salary range: $180,000 to $230,000 annually.

NewtekOne is an Equal Opportunity Employer; M/F/D/V. We require all of our employees to work in an ethical manner and uphold our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics at all times.