SVP, Underwriter, VBG

About the role

The SVP, Underwriter, Life Sciences will be a key contributor to the Venture Banking originations team. Key responsibilities include:

• Providing financial, credit, and trend analysis for venture lending opportunities to early stage private and public companies in the healthcare & life sciences industry.
• Supporting the Life Sciences lending team with expertise in structuring, analysis, and documentation for credit actions.
• Establishing viability of repayment sources and preparing credit approval memos.
• Identifying, gathering, and reviewing financial information to determine credit ratings and appropriate loan structuring.
• Affirming and communicating risks and mitigation strategies.
• Providing service and support internally and externally, assisting in customer calls and identifying cross-sales opportunities.
• Leading special projects as needed to facilitate Life Sciences lending activities and may act in a leadership role to less experienced underwriters in the work group.

Responsibilities

Independently leads the underwriting of Life Sciences credit opportunities according to applicable regulations, procedures, credit standards and guidelines.

• Interacts directly with customers to gather information throughout the approval process and to determine the credit risks and mitigants.
• Reviews financial statements, communicates with customers or prospects, and performs analysis to recommend credit ratings, covenants, and appropriate loan structuring.
• Ensures all involved parties are updated on underwriting progress and outcome.
• Provides leadership in daily activities through underwriting production and credit analysis expertise.
• Sources, compiles, and interprets financial data to support structuring and approval of loans.
• Reviews industry information and comparisons, key risks and mitigants, and collaterals to form a general business overview of the borrower.
• Utilizes results of analysis to underwrite complex loans.
• Develops comprehensive financial models, including multi-year projections of income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow, and performs sensitivity, downside, and break-even analyses to assess transaction viability.
• Promotes partnerships with company CFOs and VCs to refine projections and evaluate key assumptions to ensure underwriting models reflect all relevant business and capital structure considerations.
• Analyzes complex corporate structures and recommends optimal loan and collateral structures designed to appropriately mitigate risk and align with the Bank’s credit appetite.
• Participates in the negotiation of loan documents with outside counsel or internal legal teams.
• Prepares detailed credit memos that clearly articulate the proposed transaction, risks, mitigants, and rationale to support credit recommendation and approval.
• Leads underwriting due diligence efforts by identifying required information, coordinating with internal partners, and evaluating third-party reports such as appraisals, field exams, environmental reports, and collateral analyses.
• Prepares and reviews Expressions of Interest (EOIs) and term sheets to ensure alignment with the proposed credit structure and underwriting analysis.
• Collaborates with Relationship Managers on client engagement during the underwriting process, including participating in client calls to assess business models, management teams, and transaction strategy.
• Provides guidance and mentorship to junior Underwriters on complex underwriting assignments, including reviewing underwriting analyses, models, and credit memorandums for quality and completeness.
• Ensures all underwriting activities are conducted in compliance with applicable regulations, credit policies, and internal procedures.
• Supports transaction execution through closing by partnering with internal teams and ensuring all underwriting conditions and structural elements are accurately reflected in final documentation.

Requirements

10+ years of life sciences banking experience.

• Demonstrates knowledge of, adherence to, monitoring and responsibility for compliance with state and federal regulations and laws as they pertain to this position including but not limited to the following: Regulation Z (Truth in Lending Act), Regulation B (Equal Credit Opportunity Act), Fair Housing Act (FHA), Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA), Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA), Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) in conjunction with the USA PATRIOT Act, Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Customer Information Program (CIP), Right to Financial Privacy Act (RFPA, state and federal) and Community Reinvestment Act (CRA).
• Strong working knowledge of the Bank’s Loan Policies and Standards.
• Understands very complex loan documentation and collateral perfection.
• Strong skills in computer terminal and personal computer operation; Microsoft Office applications including but not limited to: Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook.
• Effective organizational and time management skills.
• Exceptional oral, written and interpersonal communication skills.
• Analytical writing skills a must.
• Ability to make decisions that have moderate impact on the immediate work unit and cross functional departments.
• Ability to comprehend and explain financial calculations and pricing alternatives.
• Ability to apply common sense to carry out instructions and instruct others, train personnel, write reports, correspondence and procedures, and speak clearly to customers and employees.
• Ability to make informal and formal presentations, inside and outside the organization; speaking before assigned team or other groups as needed.
• Ability to deal with complex difficult problems involving multiple facets and variables in non-standardized situations.
• Ability to work with little to no supervision while performing duties.

Qualifications

Highschool Diploma or equivalent.