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What does a senior loan officer do?

Updated January 8, 2025
7 min read
What does a senior loan officer do

A senior loan officer is responsible for authorizing loan applications after evaluating the applicant's loan eligibility upon submitting documents and other requirements. Senior loan officers assist the loan staff for the approval or rejection of the application, providing alternatives for the applicants based on their credibility. They monitor the loan process, create loan contracts, ensuring that the payment plans meet the federal laws and regulations. A senior loan officer must have extensive knowledge of the financial industry to prepare proposals timely and accurately.

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Senior loan officer responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real senior loan officer resumes:

  • Oversee the loan origination process from inception to completion and initiate aggressive business growth opportunities in a highly competitive market.
  • Maintain close relationships with loan processors and problem-solve upcoming issues to ensure quality loan origination and minimize last-minute conditions of approval.
  • Prepare FNMA 1003 and RESPA documents.
  • Underwrite over 30 FNMA modification loans determining terms of trial and permanent modifications.
  • Utilize automated underwriting engines to assess credit and collateral risk conventional and FHA lending.
  • Establish communication with escrow officers, processors, loan officers and underwriter regarding loan status and/or missing information.
  • Experience in FHA/VA, conventional, sub-prime, fix, adjustable, commercial, and balloon loans.

Senior loan officer skills and personality traits

We calculated that 15% of Senior Loan Officers are proficient in Customer Service, Loan Applications, and Origination. They’re also known for soft skills such as Detail oriented, Initiative, and Interpersonal skills.

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

  • Customer Service, 15%

    Developed and maintained longstanding referral based relationships and delivered an outstanding level of customer service developed in an independent environment.

  • Loan Applications, 11%

    Managed and analyzed credit risk for non-prime and sub-prime loan applications from franchised auto dealerships to determine viability and ensure accuracy.

  • Origination, 10%

    Maintained close relationships with loan processors and problem-solved upcoming issues to ensure quality loan origination and minimized last-minute conditions of approval.

  • Business Relationships, 5%

    Delivered key account performance through successfully cultivating business relationships with attorneys, accountants, and builders to set up future opportunities.

  • FHA, 5%

    Utilized automated underwriting engines to assess credit and collateral risk conventional and FHA lending.

  • Va, 5%

    Train and educate staff on key program requirements and guidelines for alternative products such as USDA, VA, and Jumbo.

"customer service," "loan applications," and "origination" are among the most common skills that senior loan officers use at work. You can find even more senior loan officer responsibilities below, including:

Detail oriented. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a senior loan officer to have is detail oriented. Their role and responsibilities require that "information on an application affects the potential profitability of a loan, so loan officers must pay attention to details." Senior loan officers often use detail oriented in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "determine applicants qualifications; providing detailed information about our mortgage products and evaluating, personalizing and recommending financing alternatives. "

Initiative. Many senior loan officer duties rely on initiative. "loan officers may act as salespeople in promoting their lending institution, so they must contact people and businesses to determine their need for a loan.," so a senior loan officer will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways senior loan officer responsibilities rely on initiative: "worked as a part time job) * solicited new business through cold calling and other direct marketing initiatives. "

Interpersonal skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of senior loan officers is interpersonal skills. This skill is critical to many everyday senior loan officer duties, as "loan officers must be able to guide customers through the application process and answer their questions." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "mentored new recruits to teach them the financial, legal, and interpersonal aspects of offering financial products to the public. "

See the full list of senior loan officer skills

Choose from 10+ customizable senior loan officer resume templates

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Compare different senior loan officers

Senior loan officer vs. Closer

The duties of a closer depend on one's line of work or industry of employment. Typically, their responsibilities revolve around liaising with clients to ensure that they understand and adhere to all terms of the agreement, completing all requirements and necessary documents, and maintaining records of all transactions. A closer must also monitor the regular payments of clients to ensure their compliance with the agreement, answer any inquiries, perform follow-up calls, and address any issues or concerns, resolving them promptly and efficiently.

The annual salary of closers is $7,871 lower than the average salary of senior loan officers.Even though senior loan officers and closers are distinct careers, a few of the skills required for both jobs are similar. For example, both careers require customer service, fha, and va in the day-to-day roles and responsibilities.

There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, senior loan officer responsibilities require skills like "loan applications," "origination," "business relationships," and "sr." Meanwhile a typical closer has skills in areas such as "cleanliness," "punctuality," "dependability," and "food orders." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.

The education levels that closers earn slightly differ from senior loan officers. In particular, closers are 3.6% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a senior loan officer. Additionally, they're 0.0% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Senior loan officer vs. Loan consultant

A Loan Consultant specializes in assessing loan applications to ensure potential clients uphold their financial obligations. Their responsibilities include conducting interviews with applicants, reviewing and verifying documentation, and evaluating financial credit and other records. They may also answer inquiries, advise potential clients on which program suits them the best, and help them understand every procedure. Moreover, there are also instances when they must handle delinquent accounts, reach out to clients, and negotiate payment terms when necessary.

On average, loan consultants earn a $1,714 higher salary than senior loan officers a year.While the salary may differ for these jobs, they share a few skills needed to perform their duties. Based on resume data, both senior loan officers and loan consultants have skills such as "customer service," "loan applications," and "origination. "

Each career also uses different skills, according to real senior loan officer resumes. While senior loan officer responsibilities can utilize skills like "va," "sr," "loan programs," and "nmls," loan consultants use skills like "inbound calls," "customer relationships," "financial products," and "student loans."

Loan consultants earn a higher average salary than senior loan officers. But loan consultants earn the highest pay in the finance industry, with an average salary of $38,289. Additionally, senior loan officers earn the highest salaries in the finance with average pay of $36,884 annually.loan consultants earn similar levels of education than senior loan officers in general. They're 0.1% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.0% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Senior loan officer vs. Mortgage underwriter

A mortgage underwriter is responsible for reviewing mortgage loan applications and deciding on its approval or rejection by evaluating the submitted documents and the applicant's eligibility. Mortgage underwriters create assessment reports, research on the applicant's credit score, analyze potential loan risk, and request for additional documentation as needed. A mortgage underwriter must have extensive knowledge of the loan disciplines and processes, including its legislative procedures and regulations, to provide accurate decisions or discuss necessary findings to the loan officer for advice.

An average mortgage underwriter eans a higher salary compared to the average salary of senior loan officers. The difference in salaries amounts to mortgage underwriters earning a $18,559 higher average salary than senior loan officers.Using the responsibilities included on senior loan officers and mortgage underwriters resumes, we found that both professions have similar skill requirements, such as "customer service," "origination," and "fha.rdquo;

The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, senior loan officers are more likely to have skills like "loan applications," "business relationships," "sr," and "loan programs." But a mortgage underwriter is more likely to have skills like "work ethic," "excellent organizational," "excellent interpersonal," and "financial statements."

Mortgage underwriters earn the highest salary when working in the professional industry, where they receive an average salary of $70,618. Comparatively, senior loan officers have the highest earning potential in the finance industry, with an average salary of $36,884.When it comes to education, mortgage underwriters tend to earn similar degree levels compared to senior loan officers. In fact, they're 0.5% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.4% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Senior loan officer vs. Mortgage consultant

A mortgage consultant is an individual 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.

Mortgage consultants tend to earn a higher pay than senior loan officers by an average of $1,772 per year.While both senior loan officers and mortgage consultants complete day-to-day tasks using similar skills like customer service, origination, and business relationships, the two careers vary in some skills.

Even though a few skill sets overlap between senior loan officers and mortgage consultants, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a senior loan officer might have more use for skills like "loan applications," "va," "sr," and "loan programs." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of mortgage consultants require skills like "bank products," "financial data," "cross-selling," and "credit history. "

Mortgage consultants enjoy the best pay in the finance industry, with an average salary of $36,576. For comparison, senior loan officers earn the highest salary in the finance industry.mortgage consultants reach similar levels of education compared to senior loan officers, in general. The difference is that they're 0.1% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.1% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Types of senior loan officer

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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