Lending careers received a major boost after the economic recession and prospects for lending jobs have been improving since lending activity rebounded from the recent economic recession. Job opportunities are quite good for professionals in the banking, lending, or sales fields. Let us explore the career prospects of a Loan Officer and a Chief Lending Officer who are an integral part of the lending institutions. Moreover, certain companies need Loan Officers for finding their clients, hence, candidates having a robust referral network and established contacts would be having great job opportunities.
- Chief Lending Officer
Financial institutions such as banks, savings institutions, and credit unions are known to employ these lending professionals. As per https://study.com, a Chief Lending Officer is responsible for managing a team of qualified loan officers, maintaining the loan portfolio of the bank ensuring that all needs are fulfilled for loans, creating lending policies and making reports on the loan statuses to even management. A Chief Lending Officer may have to do a bit of traveling for meeting with clients in their offices or homes.
You would be requiring a bachelor’s degree in finance, business, or any other related field. Experience required would vary from company to company but typically 8 years of supervisory or leadership experience is essential. You would require initiative, interpersonal skills, and decision-making.
How to Become a Qualified Chief Lending Officer?
Let us explore some of the steps for becoming a Chief Lending Officer.
Obtain a Bachelor’s Degree: Bachelor’s Degree programs in related streams such as business, finance, or economics. Common course topics covered by these programs may include business communications, management, and banking principles. You may consider acquiring a specialization or minor in accounting that could prove to be quite useful for pursuing your career as a Chief Lending Officer. Completing an internship with a traditional bank could help in gaining real-world experience that could be pretty useful for getting a job after completing a graduation degree. Some of these banks would be offering their unique internships. You may alternatively, gain an internship through your university or college.
Take up the Job of a Loan Officer: Many candidates who start their career as loan officers in lending institutions and banks eventually become a Chief Lending Officer. They receive training and acquire knowledge on the job by attending company-sponsored training or working under the supervision of an experienced loan officer. Loan officers who deal with mortgages generally require state licensure that typically necessitates 20 hours of course study and a meticulous background check. You could find jobs in reputed lending organizations such as Liberty Lending.
Consider Completing a Master’s Degree
Several chief Lending Officers have an MBA degree or a Master of Business Administration degree. This should prepare them for perfect management and business careers and the coursework typically covers subjects like marketing, financing, managing, researching, accounting. You must focus on developing robust sales skills.
Acquire Managerial Experience
Many employers ask for many years of solid managerial experience if you are aspiring to become a Chief Lending Officer. Some banks offer comprehensive training programs meant specifically for loan officers for advancing positions such as an assistant manager or branch manager. We understand that additional experience, for instance, experience attained in an MBA program or an internship could help managerial candidates to boost their possibilities. You may obtain a professional certification to further your career as the Chief Lending Officer. The Mortgage Bankers Association is known to offer 3 levels of certifications. Moreover, The American Bankers Association is also known to offer different kinds of certifications. The CLBB (Certified Lender Business Banker) certification is just right for qualified commercial lending officers.
- Loan Officers
Loan Officers are known to use an effective process referred to as underwriting for assessing whether loan applicants are eligible for loans. After effective collection and verification of financial documents, it is the job of Loan Officers to evaluate all this information for determining the applicant’s loan requirements and the capacity to repay the loan. Some organizations are used to underwriting loans manually; they calculate the financial status of the applicant by using a specific formula and a specified set of guidelines. Some other organizations are more inclined towards using underwriting software for producing a recommendation and at the same time, depending on Loan Officers to evaluate any additional information for making a final decision.
The job of a Loan Officer includes both sales and customer service components. Loan Officers are required to answer queries and even guide clients through the entire application process. Moreover, many Loan Officers are required to market and promote the products, as well as, services of their company and indulge in soliciting new business actively.
Loan Officer Duties
Loan Officers are required to do the following:
- Contact people or companies to know if they require a loan.
- Set up meetings with loan applicants for gathering personal information and answering customer queries.
- Explain diverse kinds of loans and associated terms.
- Acquire and verify all related financial information like the applicant’s income level and credit rating.
- Get involved in analyzing and evaluating the finances of the applicant for concluding if the applicant could be granted a loan.
- Approve loan applications of deserving candidates or sometimes refer them to the company management for the final decision.
- Money Lender
Today, many individuals are aspiring to become a part of the money-lending world. We have seen that standard loans are granted by financial institutions and banks. However, when somebody needs to borrow a relatively smaller amount for funding a small business or startup, conventional banks often fail in understanding and catering to small business borrowers need. Moreover, the interest and the loan repayment terms offered by banks are not so easy for the small borrowers. This scenario has prompted many smart individuals to initiate a lucrative career as a Money Lender. The business reviews are suggesting that money lending is a profitable business. However, effective planning is necessary to be a successful Money Lender.
Duties of a Money Lender
- Raise the required lending capital.
- Acquire the right customers.
- Retain your customers.
- Stay abreast of the latest technology.
If you wish to be a successful Money Lender, you need to create an official website. It would act as an important point of reference for all your potential and existing customers. Ensure that your official website contains the contact details and provides comprehensive loan details.
Conclusion
Lending careers are progressing well and there is sufficient demand for them as lending institutions and banks are granting more loans to businesses and people. Moreover, as the lending activity is pretty sensitive to economic fluctuations, mortgage and consumer loans have got a boost since the economy has been recovering. However, the growth in the lending industry in terms of jobs may be slightly tempered thanks to organizations relying more and more on loan underwriting software that has made the entire loan application process quicker and more seamless.