What does a senior credit manager do?
Senior credit managers are financial professionals who are responsible for overseeing the credit granting process for a financial institution. These managers are required to develop risk management solution strategies so that the institution can maintain risk and improve profitability. They must screen the credit history of applicants as well as to conduct interviews to minimize credit risk and potential monetary loss. They must also conduct credit analysis and financial risk evaluations by gathering and analyzing all types of credit information on new and existing customers.
Senior credit manager responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real senior credit manager resumes:
- Partner with small and entrepreneurial business to develop business plans and assist business owners with achieving payroll.
- Order currency for on site ATM balance on receive daily reports.
- Prepare NCUA reports, as well as state and federal filings.
- Develop and implement credit union policies and procedures to ensure compliance with the NCUA guidelines.
- Partner with small and entrepreneurial business to develop business plans and assist business owners with achieving payroll.
- Work as part of the global credit team to reduce the DSO in an effective and timely manner.
- Exceed IBM's aggressive DSO targets by consistent implementation of innovative programs to increase employee loyalty and reduce turnover.
- Participate in structuring terms and reviewing legal documents for derivative transactions, letters of credit, and liquidity facilities.
Senior credit manager skills and personality traits
We calculated that 19% of Senior Credit Managers 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 Senior Credit Managers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Risk Management, 19%
Developed risk management solution strategies to maintain risk and improve profitability.
- Credit Risk, 13%
Screened credits and interviewed applicants to minimize credit risk and potential monetary loss.
- Credit Analysis, 6%
Conducted in-depth credit analysis of financial statements to determine credit worthiness and risk for domestic and international customers.
- Financial Statements, 4%
Performed financial analysis & projections from monthly financial statements, operational due diligence and credit underwriting write ups.
- Credit Policy, 4%
Recommended credit policy, developed quality standards, and enhanced operating systems.
- Credit Decisions, 3%
Managed specific credit activities to ensure performance quality, consistency of underwriting and timeliness of credit decision process.
Most senior credit managers use their skills in "risk management," "credit risk," and "credit analysis" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential senior credit manager responsibilities here:
Analytical skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a senior credit manager to have is analytical skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "to assist executives in making decisions, financial managers need to evaluate data and information that affects their organization." Senior credit managers often use analytical skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "conducted credit analysis by gathering, analyzing and interpreting all types of credit information on new and existing customers. "
Communication skills. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling senior credit manager duties is communication skills. The role rewards competence in this skill because "financial managers must be able to explain and justify complex financial transactions." According to a senior credit manager resume, here's how senior credit managers can utilize communication skills in their job responsibilities: "directed communications with outside collection agencies. "
Detail oriented. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of senior credit managers is detail oriented. This skill is critical to many everyday senior credit manager duties, as "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." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "collaborated with all levels of management to prepare detailed ad hoc reports, budgets, financial analysis and account management recommendations. "
Math skills. For certain senior credit manager responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "math skills." The day-to-day duties of a senior credit manager rely on this skill, as "financial managers need strong skills in certain branches of mathematics, including algebra." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what senior credit managers do: "developed and implemented month end and quarter end credit reporting and benchmarking statistics to track overall company performance. "
Organizational skills. Another crucial skill for a senior credit manager to carry out their responsibilities is "organizational skills." A big part of what senior credit managers relies on this skill, since "because financial managers deal with a range of information and documents, they must have structures in place to be effective in their work." How this skill relates to senior credit manager duties can be seen in an example from a senior credit manager resume snippet: "plan and provide leadership, direction, and support to direct reports and staff members in order to meet organizational objectives. "
The three companies that hire the most senior credit managers are:
Choose from 10+ customizable senior credit manager resume templates
Build a professional senior credit manager resume in minutes. Our AI resume writing assistant will guide you through every step of the process, and you can choose from 10+ resume templates to create your senior credit manager resume.Compare different senior credit managers
Senior credit manager vs. Tax manager
A Tax Manager is responsible for managing tax reporting and compliance within an organization. They provide innovative tax planning and prepare state and federal tax returns for companies.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, senior credit manager responsibilities require skills like "risk management," "credit risk," "credit analysis," and "credit policy." Meanwhile a typical tax manager has skills in areas such as "cpa," "client relationships," "tax planning," and "tax compliance." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
Tax managers tend to make the most money working in the finance industry, where they earn an average salary of $96,231. In contrast, senior credit managers make the biggest average salary, $125,891, in the manufacturing industry.The education levels that tax managers earn slightly differ from senior credit managers. In particular, tax managers are 9.7% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a senior credit manager. Additionally, they're 2.5% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Senior credit manager vs. Finance manager
A finance manager is responsible for monitoring the financial system of a company. Their tasks include handling their organization's financial status, generating cost estimates and budget goals, identifying business opportunities to increase revenues and profitability, improving financial strategies, reducing costs, analyzing account statements, processing invoice as needed, analyzing market trends, searching potential partnerships, and presenting reports. A finance manager must have excellent analytical skills and knowledge of the accounting and financial industry. They are responsible for providing the best recommendations for the organization's growth.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that senior credit manager responsibilities requires skills like "risk management," "credit risk," "credit analysis," and "financial statements." But a finance manager might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "cpa," "customer service," "hyperion," and "financial models."
Finance managers earn a lower average salary than senior credit managers. But finance managers earn the highest pay in the finance industry, with an average salary of $118,926. Additionally, senior credit managers earn the highest salaries in the manufacturing with average pay of $125,891 annually.In general, finance managers achieve similar levels of education than senior credit managers. They're 4.8% more likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 2.5% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Senior credit manager vs. Manager
Managers are responsible for a specific department, function, or employee group. They oversee their assigned departments and all the employees under the department. Managers are responsible that the department they are handling is functioning well. They set the department goals and the steps they must take to achieve the goals. They are also in charge of assessing the performance of their departments and their employees. Additionally, managers are responsible for interviewing prospective candidates for department vacancies and assessing their fit to the needs of the department. Managers also set the general working environment in the department, and they are expected to ensure that their employees remain motivated.
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a senior credit manager is likely to be skilled in "risk management," "credit risk," "credit analysis," and "credit policy," while a typical manager is skilled in "customer service," "payroll," "food safety," and "management."
Managers make a very good living in the finance industry with an average annual salary of $71,781. On the other hand, senior credit managers are paid the highest salary in the manufacturing industry, with average annual pay of $125,891.Most managers achieve a lower degree level compared to senior credit managers. For example, they're 5.3% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.2% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Senior credit manager vs. Credit analyst
A credit analyst's role is to assess and determine a client's capacity to uphold financial obligations when applying for loans or credit programs. Working for creditors like banks and lending firms, a credit analyst must interpret and analyze financial data and personal records, identify inconsistencies and risks, and verify necessary documentation in support of loan committees. Furthermore, a credit analyst must also perform administrative tasks such as preparing reports and applications, fulfilling document requests, reaching out to clients, and coordinating with colleagues to assure accuracy in all operations.
Types of senior credit manager
Updated January 8, 2025











