What Does a Credit Officer Do?

A credit officer is responsible for evaluating financial documents and account statements to determine the eligibility of an applicant for a loan option. Credit officers communicate with the applicant to discuss the loan process, explain the terms of service, and provide them alternative options that would fit their payment ability and loan needs. They create financial reports and recommend the qualified applicant to the manager for approval. A credit officer should have excellent communication and analytical skills, ensuring that the loan policies adhere to the federal and state regulations.

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Credit Officer Responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real credit officer resumes representing typical tasks they are likely to perform in their roles.

Manage credit risk and provide independent oversight of the bank portfolio.
Manage the global function for an ERP software company that has a niche market in manufacturing companies.
Manage SBA construction/tenant improvement projects submit until project is completed.
Partner with small and entrepreneurial business to develop business plans and assist business owners with achieving payroll.
Review clients file for compliance with: CIP, OFAC, HMDA, CRA and red flag activities.
Audit applications for HUD and IHDA compliance.
Complete oversight of the second largest asset of the company.
Maintain a thorough knowledge of applicable regulations impose by IRS and IHDA.
Reduce risk associate with mortgage-backed securities by providing quality assurance on the servicing and cash-flow reporting of all parties involve.
Prepare checks day to day for data entry, or manually apply checks, ACH, wire transactions accurately and timely.
Prepare credit authorizations and submit required documentation to SBA for approval.
Implement controls mandate by Sarbanes-Oxley legislation.
Respond to``SOX"mandate internal, and external audit requests for documentation.
Develop and implement credit and collection polices and controls for Sarbanes-Oxley compliance for the entire corporation and publish across all divisions.

Credit Officer Job Description

When it comes to understanding what a credit officer does, you may be wondering, "should I become a credit officer?" The data included in this section may help you decide. Compared to other jobs, credit officers have a growth rate described as "much faster than average" at 16% between the years 2018 - 2028, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In fact, the number of credit officer opportunities that are predicted to open up by 2028 is 104,700.

A credit officer annual salary averages $129,478, which breaks down to $62.25 an hour. However, credit officers can earn anywhere from upwards of $85,000 to $196,000 a year. This means that the top-earning credit officers make $108,000 more than the lowest-earning ones.

It's hard work to become a credit officer, but even the most dedicated employees consider switching careers from time to time. Whether you're interested in a more challenging position or just looking for a fresh start, we've compiled extensive information on becoming a loan analyst, mortgage consultant, loan administrator, and foreclosure specialist.

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5 Credit Officer Resume Examples

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Jesse Olson Credit Officer Contact Information Chicago, IL (460) 555-7001 jolson@example.com Skills Customer Relations Portfolio Customer Accounts Healthcare Credit Limits Risk Management Student Loans Credit Analysis Financial Statements Data Analysis Employment History Credit Officer 2017 - Present Wells Fargo Chicago, IL Analyzed loan requests, financial statements, collateral and tax returns to determine ability to pay. Identified workout options based on financial packages, credit reports, appraisals, hardship information and investor/client guidelines. Completed commercial credit program with intensive training in accounting, finance and credit analysis. Provided oversight for $2.8 billion direct loan portfolio. Credit Analyst 2012 - 2017 Bank of America Chicago, IL Developed and maintained multiple division-level reporting suites using SAS, SQL, Tableau, and VBA-driven Excel. Review, develop, and analyze financial stability of corporations by comparing multiple year financial statements. Performed analysis and decision making for new accounts, client services, and available products. Conduct financial statement analysis and build cash flow models to evaluate balance sheet and income statement changes that impact repayment capacity. Reviewed credit line increases, as well as took risk action on clients that may not have been credit worthy. Collections Specialist 2009 - 2012 Citi New York, NY Researched, analyzed customer accounts and offered customer company programs that would assist in bringing their account current. Arrange debt repayment and establish payment schedules based on financial position. Skip trace delinquent customers to new addresses by utilizing different systems such as Fastdata and the three credit bureaus. Collections Associate 1999 - 2009 Citi New York, NY Updated Citi accounts with new demographics to prevent possible confusion during future communication. Take daily credit card payments on delinquent accounts. Account Management: Manage new account opening process for relocating expatriate employees from Fortune 1000 companies. Education Bachelor's Degree Finance 1991 - 1994 Ohio State University Columbus, OH


Bruce Ellis Credit Officer Contact Info Minneapolis, MN (380) 555-8915 bellis@example.com Skills Financial RecordsGaapSarbanes-OxleyAnnual ReportsSubstantive TestsFinancial StatementsCredit FacilitiesAssuranceSQLSpecial Projects Employment History Credit Officer 2020 - Present Wells Fargo Minneapolis, MN Designed and executed targeted sales goals. Assisted credit managers to implement and maintain day-to-day operations and sales goals. Commercial Credit Analyst 2019 - 2020 Citi San Antonio, TX Monitor credit facilities as required including covenants, borrowing bases and collateral coverage. Manage, train and mentor junior members of Credit Risk team. Develop, recommend and implement business strategies to manage credit risk, increase revenues and reduce expose to credit losses. Worked in the Risk Management department with a team focused on reducing loss. Staff Accountant 2009 - 2019 St. David's Health Care System Austin, TX Prepared monthly reconciliations for all Balance sheet accounts, including documentation to support all balances. Completed reconciliations and schedules for all balance sheet accounts. Reconciled AR subsystem to PeopleSoft General Ledger and to Legacy ending balances at conversion. Prepare financial reports, journal entries, and variance analysis while tracking and analyzing fixed asset activity. Staff Auditor 2006 - 2008 The Cooper Companies Houston, TX Performed compilations, reviews, and audits of client financial statements. Passed the CPA exam in 1985. Passed the CPA examination on first attempt. Planned and managed audit engagements and performed audit procedures. Performed system documentation, procedural testing and audit of balance sheet and income statement. Education Master's Degree Finance 2008 - 2009 University of Texas at Austin Austin, TX Bachelor's Degree Accounting 2003 - 2006 University of Houston Houston, TX


Bruce Ellis Credit Officer Minneapolis, MN (380) 555-8915 bellis@example.com Experience Credit Officer2020 - Present Wells Fargo•Minneapolis, MN Designed and executed targeted sales goals. Assisted credit managers to implement and maintain day-to-day operations and sales goals. Commercial Credit Analyst2019 - 2020 Citi•San Antonio, TX Monitor credit facilities as required including covenants, borrowing bases and collateral coverage. Manage, train and mentor junior members of Credit Risk team. Develop, recommend and implement business strategies to manage credit risk, increase revenues and reduce expose to credit losses. Worked in the Risk Management department with a team focused on reducing loss. Staff Accountant2009 - 2019 St. David's Health Care System•Austin, TX Prepared monthly reconciliations for all Balance sheet accounts, including documentation to support all balances. Completed reconciliations and schedules for all balance sheet accounts. Reconciled AR subsystem to PeopleSoft General Ledger and to Legacy ending balances at conversion. Prepare financial reports, journal entries, and variance analysis while tracking and analyzing fixed asset activity. Staff Auditor2006 - 2008 The Cooper Companies•Houston, TX Performed compilations, reviews, and audits of client financial statements. Passed the CPA exam in 1985. Passed the CPA examination on first attempt. Planned and managed audit engagements and performed audit procedures. Performed system documentation, procedural testing and audit of balance sheet and income statement. Skills Financial RecordsGaapSarbanes-OxleyAnnual ReportsSubstantive TestsFinancial StatementsCredit FacilitiesAssuranceSQLSpecial Projects Education Master's Degree Finance2008 - 2009 University of Texas at Austin•Austin, TX Bachelor's Degree Accounting2003 - 2006 University of Houston•Houston, TX

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Credit Officer Skills and Personality Traits

We calculated that 10% of Credit Officers are proficient in Risk Management, Credit Risk, and Credit Analysis. They’re also known for soft skills such as Analytical skills, Communication skills, and Detail oriented.

We break down the percentage of Credit Officers that have these skills listed on their resume here:

Risk Management, 10%
Chaired credit meetings and evaluated transactions to ensure the integrity of credit decisions and to implement risk management criteria.
Credit Risk, 7%
Prepared credit approval memorandum (CAM) with corresponding attachments that accurately present pertinent credit risks and provides applicable recommendations.
Credit Analysis, 5%
Introduced improved internal controls, credit analysis and credit administration procedure to enhance loan quality and performance.
Real Estate, 4%
Administered and supervised credit officers in structuring commercial and consumer real estate transactions resulting in excellent loan credit quality.
Credit Approval, 4%
Credit approval process included business financial analysis, personal financial analysis, global financial analysis, industry, and project analysis.
Portfolio Management, 4%
Structured and led new credit administration department, implemented portfolio management strategies, developed and implemented a regulatory compliant ALLL methodology.

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Most credit officers list "risk management," "credit risk," and "credit analysis" as skills on their resumes. We go into more details on the most important credit officer responsibilities here:

The most important skills for a credit officer to have in this position are analytical skills. In this excerpt that we gathered from a credit officer resume, you'll understand why: "financial managers increasingly are assisting executives in making decisions that affect their organization, a task that requires analytical ability." According to resumes we found, analytical skills can be used by a credit officer in order to "performed in-depth judgmental financial credit analysis on businesses, initiated procedures, and programs that increased revenue and reduced expenses. "

Another commonly found skill for being able to perform credit officer duties is the following: communication skills. According to a credit officer resume, "excellent communication skills are essential because financial managers must explain and justify complex financial transactions." Check out this example of how credit officers use communication skills: "provided written and verbal communication regarding any issues encountered in the review of a credit approval to the appropriate parties. "

Credit officers are also known for detail oriented, which can be critical when it comes to performing their duties. An example of why this skill is important is shown by this snippet that we found in a credit officer resume: "in preparing and analyzing reports such as balance sheets and income statements, financial managers must be precise and attentive to their work in order to avoid errors." We also found this resume example that details how this skill is put to the test: "completed thorough review of bank's existing documentation and performed a detailed credit analysis of customer's financial position. "

A thorough review of lots of resumes revealed to us that "math skills" is important to completing credit officer responsibilities. This resume example shows just one way credit officers use this skill: "financial managers must be skilled in math, including algebra" Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical credit officer tasks: "prepared credit quality and risk assessment statistics for bod review but was not authorized to present directly. "

As part of the credit officer description, you might find that one of the skills that might be helpful to the job is "organizational skills." A credit officer resume included this snippet: "because financial managers deal with a range of information and documents, they must stay organized to do their jobs effectively." This skill could be useful in this scenario: "conducted underwriting and loan portfolio review to support organizational goals. "

See the full list of credit officer skills.

Before becoming a credit officer, 69.3% earned their bachelor's degree. When it comes down to graduating with a master's degree, 18.1% credit officers went for the extra education. If you're wanting to pursue this career, it may be possible to be successful with a high school degree. In fact, most credit officers have a college degree. But about one out of every nine credit officers didn't attend college at all.

Those credit officers who do attend college, typically earn either a business degree or a finance degree. Less commonly earned degrees for credit officers include a accounting degree or a economics degree.

When you're ready to become a credit officer, you might wonder which companies hire credit officers. According to our research through credit officer resumes, credit officers are mostly hired by Bank of America, TD Bank, and Wells Fargo. Now is a good time to apply as Bank of America has 222 credit officers job openings, and there are 34 at TD Bank and 27 at Wells Fargo.

But if you're interested in companies where you might earn a high salary, credit officers tend to earn the biggest salaries at Farm Credit System, ARES, and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group. Take Farm Credit System for example. The median credit officer salary is $144,532. At ARES, credit officers earn an average of $141,504, while the average at Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group is $140,686. You should take into consideration how difficult it might be to secure a job with one of these companies.

View more details on credit officer salaries across the United States.

If you earned a degree from the top 100 educational institutions in the United States, you might want to take a look at Wells Fargo, Bank of America, and Citi. These three companies have hired a significant number of credit officers from these institutions.

The three companies that hire the most prestigious credit officers are:

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What Loan Analysts Do

A loan analyst is responsible for determining the eligibility of loan applicants in purchasing loan services by analyzing their application documents, account statements, and financial and credit status. Loan analysts evaluate loan agreements and payment plans and explain feasibility to the customers and loan officers before granting the loan. They also provide loan options and alternatives to the clients according to their needs and risk limitations. A loan analyst must have excellent knowledge of the loan and financial industry, especially in handling credit policies and loan processes and ensuring timely submission of reports.

In this section, we take a look at the annual salaries of other professions. Take loan analyst for example. On average, the loan analysts annual salary is $91,621 lower than what credit officers make on average every year.

While the salaries between these two careers can be different, they do share some of the same responsibilities. Employees in both credit officers and loan analysts positions are skilled in credit analysis, real estate, and customer service.

As far as similarities go, this is where it ends because a credit officer responsibility requires skills such as "risk management," "credit risk," "credit approval," and "portfolio management." Whereas a loan analyst is skilled in "financial statements," "excellent interpersonal," "data entry," and "loan processing." So if you're looking for what truly separates the two careers, you've found it.

Loan analysts tend to make the most money in the finance industry by averaging a salary of $37,567. In contrast, credit officers make the biggest average salary of $120,621 in the finance industry.

On average, loan analysts reach lower levels of education than credit officers. Loan analysts are 10.4% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.2% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

What Are The Duties Of a Mortgage Consultant?

A mortgage consultant is a professional who helps customers and businesses identify the best option for mortgage deals based on their financial resources. To maintain an excellent relationship with clients, mortgage consultants must possess a broad knowledge of the company's products to answer all the clients' queries and concerns. They help clients gather and analyze documents that are required for loan approval and create accurate mortgage information. They also develop relationships with banks and real estate agents to help promote bank mortgages for clients.

Next up, we have the mortgage consultant profession to look over. This career brings along a lower average salary when compared to a credit officer annual salary. In fact, mortgage consultants salary difference is $90,544 lower than the salary of credit officers per year.

Not everything about these jobs is different. Take their skills, for example. Credit officers and mortgage consultants both include similar skills like "customer service," "credit worthiness," and "commercial banking" on their resumes.

But both careers also use different skills, according to real credit officer resumes. While credit officer responsibilities can utilize skills like "risk management," "credit risk," "credit analysis," and "real estate," some mortgage consultants use skills like "nmls," "financial services," "loan products," and "bank products."

On average, mortgage consultants earn a lower salary than credit officers. There are industries that support higher salaries in each profession respectively. Interestingly enough, mortgage consultants earn the most pay in the finance industry with an average salary of $36,576. Whereas, credit officers have higher paychecks in the finance industry where they earn an average of $120,621.

On the topic of education, mortgage consultants earn lower levels of education than credit officers. In general, they're 11.7% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.2% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

How a Loan Administrator Compares

A Loan Administrator is a person that takes care of all the documentation part of the loan process. Loans require a lot of documents and requirements, and a loan administrator is a person that helps the client accomplish all these requirements. It is also their job to help clients resolve issues and problems during the loan process. A Loan Administrator is a crucial and hectic job. The one qualified for this position must be good at handling pressure, be good at resolving issues, handle complaints, and communicate with people.

The third profession we take a look at is loan administrator. On an average scale, these workers bring in lower salaries than credit officers. In fact, they make a $86,619 lower salary per year.

By looking over several credit officers and loan administrators resumes, we found that both roles utilize similar skills, such as "customer service," "due diligence," and "loan portfolio." But beyond that the careers look very different.

There are many key differences between these two careers as shown by resumes from each profession. Some of those differences include the skills required to complete responsibilities within each role. As an example of this, a credit officer is likely to be skilled in "risk management," "credit risk," "credit analysis," and "real estate," while a typical loan administrator is skilled in "data entry," "loan administration," "loan processing," and "financial statements."

Additionally, loan administrators earn a higher salary in the finance industry compared to other industries. In this industry, they receive an average salary of $48,093. Additionally, credit officers earn an average salary of $120,621 in the finance industry.

Loan administrators typically study at lower levels compared with credit officers. For example, they're 11.2% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.2% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Description Of a Foreclosure Specialist

A foreclosure specialist is a real estate professional that manages foreclosure processes. Serving in this role means that you will have responsibilities such as ensuring that aspects related to foreclosure meet all government regulations from the federal level to the state level and that deadlines are met and duly communicated to all parties involved. You may have to work with mortgage holders that run the risk of default, in which case you will be tasked with renegotiating loan agreement changes.

The fourth career we look at typically earns lower pay than credit officers. On average, foreclosure specialists earn a difference of $88,390 lower per year.

While their salaries may vary, credit officers and foreclosure specialists both use similar skills to perform their jobs. Resumes from both professions include skills like "real estate," "occ," and "default management. "

Each job requires different skills like "risk management," "credit risk," "credit analysis," and "credit approval," which might show up on a credit officer resume. Whereas foreclosure specialist might include skills like "foreclosure process," "insurer," "loss mitigation," and "litigation."

In general, foreclosure specialists reach lower levels of education when compared to credit officers resumes. Foreclosure specialists are 13.6% less likely to earn their Master's Degree and 0.8% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Updated October 2, 2020