Underwriter vs consumer loan underwriter

The differences between underwriters and consumer loan underwriters can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, an underwriter has an average salary of $61,751, which is higher than the $53,525 average annual salary of a consumer loan underwriter.

The top three skills for an underwriter include customer service, investor guidelines and mortgage loans. The most important skills for a consumer loan underwriter are financial statements, loan applications, and strong analytical.

Underwriter vs consumer loan underwriter overview

	Underwriter	Consumer Loan Underwriter
Yearly salary	$61,751	$53,525
Hourly rate	$29.69	$25.73
Growth rate	-4%	4%
Number of jobs	8,510	17,495
Job satisfaction	3	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 66%	Bachelor's Degree, 66%
Average age	44	45
Years of experience	-	6

What does an underwriter do?

An underwriter's duties depend on the line of work or industry involved, such as mortgage companies, insurance, or lending firms. However, an Underwriter's responsibility will mainly revolve around using their extensive expertise on how a company will achieve financial gains, and assessing the possible financial risks of a client by reviewing various aspects to determine their capacity to uphold monetary obligations. Most of the time, the Underwriter's tasks will also involve evaluating a client's credit history, health, assets, overall financial history.

What does a consumer loan underwriter do?

A consumer loan underwriter, or often known as a loan officer, is a financial professional who works at a credit union or other financial institution to approve or disapprove loans to clients. Consumer loan underwriters must review and verify the information provided by loan applicants and then decide on approving or denying a loan according to the policies of the institution. They must determine maximum loss potential by identifying all loans that are associated with a borrower where fraud may have occurred. Consumer loan underwriters must also demonstrate experience in underwriting conventional and FHA loans.

Underwriter vs consumer loan underwriter salary

Underwriters and consumer loan underwriters have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Underwriter	Consumer Loan Underwriter
Average salary	$61,751	$53,525
Salary range	Between $39,000 And $96,000	Between $37,000 And $76,000
Highest paying City	Boston, MA	New York, NY
Highest paying state	Massachusetts	New York
Best paying company	Google	Marcus & Millichap
Best paying industry	Manufacturing	Finance

Differences between underwriter and consumer loan underwriter education

There are a few differences between an underwriter and a consumer loan underwriter in terms of educational background:

	Underwriter	Consumer Loan Underwriter
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 66%	Bachelor's Degree, 66%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Underwriter vs consumer loan underwriter demographics

Here are the differences between underwriters' and consumer loan underwriters' demographics:

	Underwriter	Consumer Loan Underwriter
Average age	44	45
Gender ratio	Male, 38.4% Female, 61.6%	Male, 42.6% Female, 57.4%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.2% Unknown, 2.5% Hispanic or Latino, 9.6% Asian, 5.6% White, 72.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%	Black or African American, 9.2% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 15.9% Asian, 6.4% White, 63.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	9%	8%

Differences between underwriter and consumer loan underwriter duties and responsibilities

Underwriter example responsibilities.

Attain Jr. underwriter status and AUS underwriting authority.
Manage AUS findings and analyze approvals and results accordingly.
Complete initial review of appraisals, borrower credit documents, and DU/LP findings according to Fannie Mae and investor guidelines.
Research and develop SBA program.
Work on project putting together HPR policy.
Resolve issues preventing final disposition of REO properties.

Consumer loan underwriter example responsibilities.

Ensure proper coding are accomplished by determining the appropriate code in accordance with ICD-9 and CPT guidelines.
Innovate technical solutions, including development of complex macros within MSP, to automate work and reduce manual processes
Manage a pipeline of fund TRID loans for completeness so they can be deliver and purchase by the required investor.
Manage the organization's HMDA data and accurately complete the government reporting annually.
Render underwritten decisions and subsequently clear conditions per underwriting policies and procedures, including knowledge of FNMA and FMLMC guidelines.
Generate and distribute IRB committee meeting minutes in accordance with appropriate federal regulations.

Underwriter vs consumer loan underwriter skills

Common underwriter skills

Customer Service, 11%
Investor Guidelines, 6%
Mortgage Loans, 5%
Underwriting Guidelines, 5%
Financial Statements, 4%
FHA, 3%

Common consumer loan underwriter skills

Financial Statements, 12%
Loan Applications, 11%
Strong Analytical, 8%
Credit Reports, 7%
Credit Decisions, 6%
Compliance Reviews, 4%

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Underwriter vs Consumer Loan Underwriter

Updated January 8, 2025

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