Credit Officer

About the role

The Credit Officer will manage and support the growing credit needs of the Low Income Investment Fund. This position will initially function as an individual contributor while playing a key role in designing the structure, workflows and processes for the Credit and Asset Management team.

Responsibilities

• Work with Originations and Asset Management staff to provide guidance in support of structuring and underwriting transactions to successfully achieve the stated goal/impact within acceptable risk parameters.
• Work with the Chief Credit Officer, Chief Lending Officer, and other relevant stakeholders to assess and update guidelines and procedures that Originations staff will follow in order to present previews and loan approval requests to Credit, and secure initial and final credit approval for the transactions from the Chief Credit Officer and/or Internal Loan Committee and Lending Risk Committee.
• As needed, work with the nCino Team to update guidelines for Originations and Asset Management staff to adhere to when submitting new loan and modification approval requests through nCino.
• Ensure that all requests submitted for approval are managed pursuant to LIIF’s Loan and Asset Concentration Policy and delegations.
• Manage the Flow of Credit: Under guidance from the Chief Credit Officer, the Credit Officer will help manage the review and approval process for new loans and the modification/extension of the existing loan portfolio.
• Supervise the Special Attention Loan portfolio: The Credit Officer will be the Credit lead for overall management of the Special Attention Loan (SAL) portfolio. Under guidance from the Chief Credit Officer, the Credit Officer will provide leadership to the Asset Management Team members on ongoing responsibilities related to the SAL portfolio, including but not limited to monthly SAL/challenged loan meetings with senior management, the quarterly SAL credit committee reviews, updates to the SAL loss reserve projections, updates on SALs to the Internal Loan Committee and Lending Risk Committee, and corresponding with external lending/investor partners and Borrowers on specific SAL transactions.
• Current and Expected Credit Losses (CECL) Reserve Factors: The Credit Officer will be the Credit lead for LIIF’s annual qualitative analysis update to the CECL loan loss reserve calculation. Under guidance from the Chief Credit Officer, the Credit Officer will lead the assessment of qualitative risk factors and the assignment of risk status and weight; the collection and analysis of LIIF portfolio trends and macroeconomic data; and presentation of findings and recommendations for approval by the executive team, the Internal Loan Committee and the Lending Risk Committee.
• Risk Rating Model: The Credit Officer will be responsible for ongoing management of LIIF’s Risk Rating Model, which is a component of the Impact, Risk and Profitability (IRP) Framework guided by LIIF’s Strategic Plan. The Risk Rating Model has been built out in Salesforce, and the Credit Officer will be the Credit lead on providing support to Originations and Asset Management staff on understanding the risk rating methodology and utilizing the Salesforce model version; ensuring that risk ratings are assessed on loans on a timely basis; managing updates to the methodology and model as needed and coordinating with the LIIF nCino and IT teams on the implementation of the changes; and coordinating with other departments within the organization as LIIF seeks to advance the IRP Framework.
• Lending Manual and Credit Guidance: The Credit Officer is responsible for: Guiding Originations and Underwriting staff on LIIF lending policies, financial products, and procedures, as outlined in the LIIF Lending Manual, that are required to be followed in order to ensure credit risk is appropriately managed for the various financial products that are available; Updating the Lending Manual at least quarterly, and more often as needed and for ensuring updates are reported to Compliance and Finance as needed to meet stakeholder requirements.
• Lending Governance: Working with LIIF’s Chief Credit Officer, the members of the Internal Loan Committee, Lending Staff, and the Lending Risk Committee the Credit Officer will support updating the Loan and Asset Concentration Policy and Loan Products to appropriately govern credit risk and to update based on business needs and Strategic Plan intentions.
• Special Projects: As needed, the Credit Officer be the Credit lead on cross-departmental initiatives that emerge as projects of strategic importance for the organization and require coordination and cooperation between various LIIF departments.

Qualifications

• Strong lending/credit skills
• Experience in real estate-based lending, including deal structuring, and risk mitigation
• Experience as a strategic thinker with strong relationship skills
• Organized with project management and consultant management skills and experience
• Familiarity with the New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) program
• Proven track record in community development real estate credit and relationship management with both internal and external stakeholders
• Experience working within low-income communities and a demonstrated passion for community impact and economic development
• Background in one or more of the following areas preferred: Affordable housing, Charter schools, Health facilities, Community facilities serving low-income populations, Businesses improving access to healthy foods
• Knowledge of Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) Fund programs and New Markets Tax Credits (NMTC)
• Familiarity with industry best practices across CDFIs and Community Development Banks is highly desirable