First Resource Bank, a thriving community bank headquartered in Exton, PA and consistently recognized as one of the "Best Places to Work," is seeking an experienced, commercial-minded and people-focused Chief Lending Officer to join our Executive Team.
The Chief Lending Officer (CLO) provides strategic direction, executive leadership and oversight for the Bank's lending function. As a member of the Executive Team, the CLO collaborates in developing and executing the Bank's strategic plan while ensuring lending practices support the Bank's mission, growth objectives, profitability, credit culture and commitment to exceptional customer service.
The CLO is accountable for responsible loan portfolio growth; sound credit administration; disciplined lending processes; regulatory compliance; and effective partnership across Lending, Credit, Loan Operations, Retail Banking, Finance, Risk and other functional areas. This role oversees all lending activities and is expected to strengthen full banking relationships by coordinating lending sales efforts with deposit, treasury management, digital banking and other relationship-expansion opportunities.
In addition, the CLO must foster the culture of a "Best Place to Work" and support an environment where employees want to come to work every day. A successful CLO will demonstrate executive presence, strong business development discipline, sound credit judgment, comfort leading through others and the ability to build scalable processes for a high-growth community bank.
Enterprise Lending Leadership & Strategy
- Participate in the Bank's long- and short-term strategic planning; translate enterprise strategy into lending goals, priorities and measurable outcomes.
- Develop and support the Bank's loan growth strategy, including loan portfolio mix, target markets, relationship profitability and production goals consistent with budget, capital, liquidity and risk appetite expectations.
- Set Lending Department strategic plans to align with the Bank's business plan and establish target goals for lenders and lending team members.
- Provide executive leadership for the lending function, ensuring clear priorities, strong governance, disciplined execution and a high-performing, client-focused culture.
- Lead departmental planning parameters; monitor department performance, budget-related activities, staffing needs and strategic initiatives.
Loan Portfolio Growth, Sales Leadership & Full Relationship Expansion
- Lead commercial lending sales efforts and provide coaching, accountability and support to lenders in developing new business, deepening existing relationships and retaining high-value clients.
- Partner closely with the Chief Retail Banking Officer to integrate lending and retail sales efforts so each loan relationship is evaluated for full relationship onboarding, including deposit accounts and other appropriate Bank solutions.
- Establish consistent expectations for relationship planning, cross-functional calling, referral follow-up and onboarding execution so lending relationships become full banking relationships whenever practical.
- Coordinate with Retail Banking, Treasury Management, Marketing and other teams to improve lead generation, customer handoffs, customer communications and relationship profitability.
- Research and evaluate feasibility of new lending products or enhancements; develop and implement plans for expansion of lending programs while maintaining competitiveness and credit discipline.
Lending Process, Credit Administration & Loan Operations Partnership
- Collaborate with Credit and Loan Operations leadership to design, maintain and continuously improve a clear, efficient and well-controlled lending process from prospecting and application through underwriting, approval, documentation, closing, funding, servicing, renewals and exception resolution.
- Coordinate with Credit to ensure underwriting standards, loan presentations, approval workflows, policy exceptions and portfolio monitoring expectations are clearly understood and consistently applied.
- Coordinate with Loan Operations to ensure timely and accurate loan documentation, collateral tracking, closing workflows, booking, ticklers, post-closing review, file quality and ongoing servicing support.
- Promote positive inter-departmental relationships and effective handoffs among Lending, Credit, Loan Operations and Retail Banking to improve customer experience, reduce rework and strengthen accountability.
- Develop and implement initiatives to improve efficiency, transparency, data quality and accountability throughout the lending, credit administration and collection processes.
Credit Quality, Underwriting & Portfolio Risk Management
- Monitor adherence to sound credit practices and administration policies and procedures.
- Implement, direct and monitor lending policies and procedures in accordance with the Bank's goals, strategies, risk appetite and regulatory expectations.
- Monitor and analyze loan data reports, delinquencies, exceptions, concentrations, policy exceptions and other portfolio risk indicators; recommend corrective action when appropriate.
- Work with the lending team on complex credits, troubled credits, renewals and other matters requiring senior-level judgment to protect the Bank from loss.
- Formulate recommendations for loan modification, collection strategy, charge-off or other actions consistent with prudent lending, collections practices and applicable laws and regulations.
- Report and coordinate with Executive Management regarding matters involving the loan portfolio, credit quality, portfolio trends and emerging risks.
Construction Lending & Specialty Lending Oversight
- Ensure construction and specialty lending activities are supported by appropriate expertise, controls, monitoring practices and communication among Lending, Credit and Loan Operations.
- Serve as an escalation point for complex construction or specialty lending issues and ensure timely communication of material risks to Executive Management and appropriate committees.
Board, Governance, Regulatory Compliance & External Representation
- Serve on Management and Board Committees as requested, including the Loan Committee and other committees as needed.
- Present Lending Department reports to the Board of Directors periodically, typically quarterly.
- Work closely with auditors and examiners to ensure the Bank complies with prudent lending methodologies as articulated in applicable laws and regulations and to appropriately address identified weaknesses.
- Represent and promote the Bank at external functions, customer meetings, community events and industry forums.
- Maintain functional knowledge of applicable federal laws and regulations, including but not limited to the USA PATRIOT Act, Office of Foreign Assets Control, Anti-Money Laundering, Right to Financial Privacy Act, Bank Bribery Act, Customer Identification Program and Fair Lending requirements.
- BSA Compliance: every employee is required to uphold the Bank's compliance with the Bank Secrecy Act and anti-money laundering policies and procedures.
- Complete required training, including annual online BSA and IT security courses and other assigned training courses.
Team Leadership, Culture & Performance Management
- Serve as a member of the Senior Management Team, demonstrating an appropriate level of professionalism, executive presence, collaboration and leadership.
- Communicate clearly with employees to ensure positive understanding of goals, direction, rules, regulations, requirements and expectations.
- Demonstrate effective leadership skills, creating a positive work environment where employees thrive and the organization achieves desired results.
- Oversee the development of performance standards, production goals and accountability measures for key staff.
- Manage staff to support day-to-day operations of the lending function; develop talent, delegate effectively and support succession planning within the department.
Operational Excellence, Systems & Special Projects
- Analyze lending data and reports to identify trends, opportunities, risks and necessary corrective actions.
- Champion scalable processes, technology utilization, workflow improvements and data integrity across the lending function.
- Support other departments where needed and collaborate across the Bank to solve problems, improve customer outcomes and support strategic initiatives.
- Work on special projects within the Bank as assigned or needed.
Competencies:
Knowledge, skills and abilities
- Strong executive leadership, supervisory and organizational skills.
- Strong commercial lending, credit, portfolio management and business development judgment.
- Ability to lead through influence and build productive partnerships across Lending, Credit, Loan Operations, Retail Banking and other functional areas.
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
- Excellent interpersonal and customer service skills.
- Excellent time management skills with a proven ability to meet deadlines.
- Strong analytical, decision-making and problem-solving skills.
- Ability to prioritize tasks and delegate effectively when appropriate.
- Ability to function well in a high-paced and at times stressful environment.
- Proficient with Microsoft Office Suite and related banking/lending systems.
Supervisory Responsibilities:
- Recruits, interviews . click apply for full job details