Director of Underwriting

About the role

The Director of Underwriting is responsible for leading the Bank's commercial underwriting function, ensuring the consistent delivery of high-quality credit decisions across SBA, Commercial Real Estate (CRE), and Commercial & Industrial (C&I) lending. This position serves as a strategic leader within Credit Administration, partnering closely with Business Development, Portfolio Management, Loan Operations, and Executive Management to support profitable loan growth while maintaining a disciplined approach to credit risk management.

Responsibilities

• Lead, mentor, and develop a team of Credit Managers responsible for reviewing and presenting SBA, Commercial Real Estate (CRE), and Commercial & Industrial (C&I) credit requests and managing underwriters.
• Establish departmental goals, performance expectations, and service standards while fostering a culture of accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
• Manage staffing, workflow allocation, succession planning, and employee development initiatives.
• Promote consistency in underwriting practices and credit decision-making across all commercial lending portfolios.
• Direct the underwriting and credit approval process for SBA, CRE, and C&I lending opportunities.
• Review and present complex commercial credit relationships, including owner-occupied and investor commercial real estate, operating lines of credit, equipment financing, acquisition financing, and other commercial lending structures.
• Manage underwriting pre-qualification process, pipeline and production.
• Maintain consistency in underwriting quality, documentation, and risk assessment across all commercial loan types.
• Partner with the Deputy Chief Credit Officer to monitor portfolio quality, underwriting trends, policy exceptions, concentration risk, and emerging credit issues across the commercial portfolio.
• Recommend enhancements to underwriting standards, credit policy, risk rating methodologies, and portfolio management practices.
• Support the development and implementation of enterprise credit risk initiatives and underwriting best practices.
• Collaborate with Portfolio Management, Loan Operations, and Credit Administration to ensure seamless execution throughout the loan lifecycle.
• Serve as a trusted advisor to executive leadership on commercial credit matters and underwriting strategy.

Requirements

• Minimum of 10 years of progressive commercial banking credit underwriting experience, including significant experience with SBA, Commercial Real Estate (CRE), and Commercial & Industrial (C&I) lending.
• Minimum of 5 years of leadership experience managing commercial underwriting or credit teams.
• Demonstrated expertise in analyzing complex commercial credit relationships across multiple industries and lending structures.
• Expert knowledge of commercial credit underwriting principles, SBA lending requirements, Commercial Real Estate (CRE) lending, and Commercial & Industrial (C&I) lending.
• Strong understanding of commercial financial statement analysis, global cash flow, debt service coverage, collateral analysis, loan structuring, guarantor analysis, and commercial risk assessment.
• Thorough knowledge of commercial banking regulations, lending compliance requirements, and sound credit administration practices.
• Demonstrated ability to balance prudent credit risk management with strategic loan growth objectives in a fast-paced environment.
• Exceptional leadership, communication, decision-making, and relationship management skills.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, Business Administration, Economics, or a related field required.
• Master's degree in Business Administration (MBA), Finance, Accounting, or a related discipline preferred.
• Formal commercial credit training through a recognized banking or financial services program is preferred.
• Professional certifications such as Credit Risk Certification (CRC), Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), Certified Public Accountant (CPA), Risk Management Association (RMA) Credit Certification, or other relevant banking or credit credentials are a plus.

Benefits

NewtekOne is an Equal Opportunity Employer; M/F/D/V. We require all of our employees to work in an ethical manner and uphold our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics at all times.