Credit Officer II (CRE Underwriting) - Red Bank, NJ

At OceanFirst Bank, each one of our employees plays an important role in delivering value to our customers and executing daily tasks in accordance with our core values. We recognize that our employees are essential to our success, making OceanFirst a great place to work and do business.

Great benefits include: on-site fitness facility at Red Bank and Toms River headquarter offices, hybrid schedule after initial onboarding has been completed (4 days in office, 1 day remote, employee perks & discount programs, tuition assistance, incentive compensation program, professional development opportunities, and more! Apply today to #BecomeOceanFirst and make an impact in the local community!

ABOUT YOUR ROLE

Perform independent analysis for commercial loan requests for new Commercial Lending relationships that are more of a complex nature; evaluate and make recommendation to approve, deny or offer alternative structuring solution. Prepare written analysis and succinctly summarize underlying risk and recommend risk rating. Identify and document any deviations from the Commercial Loan Policy as appropriate. Review analyses performed by Credit Analyst staff, and, if applicable, incorporate into overall risk assessment. Recommend and approve credit decisions within established authority in conjunction with Credit Officer if applicable. Ensure adherence to all applicable laws, regulations and company guidelines as detailed in the Bank's credit policy. Provide guidance to less seasoned Credit Officer I's and Credit Analyst staff.

WHAT YOU WILL DO

1. Perform efficient and concise detailed analysis and quality underwriting of commercial loan proposals including the most complex loans, primarily for new.
2. Proactively and independently analyze and structure proposals and complete the underwriting and evaluation process. Identify loan structure alternatives and make recommendations on credit decisions. Be the final decision maker on credits within their individual lending authority. Ensure compliance with credit policy and underwriting requirements.
3. Demonstrate an understanding of the Bank's overall portfolio mix, concentration and exposure limits, risk philosophy, stress modeling, and other quantitative risk modeling factors that may impact credit decisions,
4. Utilizing automated and manual analytical tools and techniques, perform in-depth projective financial analysis, including "what-if" scenarios that test the reasonableness of the projections provided to the Bank or construct predictive performance when not provided.
5. Maintain the overall credit quality of the region's loan portfolio by pro-actively identifying the impact of current economic and market trends on the portfolio; take appropriate action to mitigate and control risks. Identify and document any deviation from the Commercial loan policy as appropriate.
6. Discuss and review covenants and overall assessment with reviewers and establish turnaround/delivery requirements. Participate in customer meeting to provide expert analytical counsel and credit perspective.
7. Perform analysis of secondary sources of repayment such as collateral; assess the quality and source of collateral marketability in a liquidation scenario.
8. Perform analysis of a guarantor's financial position through a thorough investigation of personal financial statements to develop an understanding of any contingent liabilities and constructing an estimated personal net cash flow through the thorough investigation of personal tax returns and credit reporting documentation.
9. Prepare comprehensive written analysis for loan proposals including summary of financial statements, cash flow trends, management profiles, business and product cycles, operating performance and appropriate economic and market research.
10. Assign a credit risk rating.
11. Prepare in-depth loan package with detailed analysis and recommendations for presentation to reviewers and/or Management Credit Committee. Attend Management Credit Committee to provide input on overall assessment and answer questions regarding their credit analysis as necessary. May present credits to the Management Credit Committee.
12. Provide guidance to less seasoned Credit Portfolio Managers and credit analyst staff.
13. Ensure compliance of all required documentation and ensure loan terms and conditions adhere to established credit policy and approval. Ensure compliance with applicable federal, state and local laws and regulations, agency guidelines and organization policies.
14. Provide approval authority for commercial loans as specified by Loan Policy.
15. In partnership with the Commercial Relationship Managers and Regional Managers, may assist with underwriting for renewals, extensions, annual reviews.
16. In partnership with the Commercial Relationship Managers and Regional Managers, establish and maintain relationships with current and prospective customers. Leverage customer knowledge to proactively identify and recommend opportunities to cross-sell additional loan and non-credit products to clients.

• Thorough knowledge of commercial lending process including credit evaluation and underwriting expertise with proven success making independent credit assessments. Ability to analyze participation loans and other loans with complex covenant structures.
• Thorough knowledge and understanding of credit approval policy and process with the proven ability to accurately interpret lending policy and apply same to the management of the portfolio.
• Knowledge and understanding of qualitative portfolio analytics and metrics with the ability to utilize automated and manual analytical tools and techniques, including "what-if" scenarios and in-depth projective financial analysis to the most complex lending scenarios.
• Ability to identify and quantify business risks and the key drivers of risk and focus decisions accordingly.
• General understanding of bank's overall portfolio mix, concentration and exposure limits, risk philosophy. Ability to understand client industry and its fit into portfolio parameters
• Thorough knowledge of banking regulations and laws governing commercial lending.
• Strong written and oral communication skills with the ability to effectively communicate financial analysis detail in a clear, concise manner. Confident in the ability to present to senior management and/or Credit Committee as necessary.
• Ability to establish and maintain professional internal partner and external client relationships.
• Demonstrated ability to provide guidance and leadership to less seasoned staff.
• Strong organizational skills with ability to set priorities in a multi-task environment and meet deadlines.
• Demonstrated proficiency with Microsoft Office, with specific capability in Word and Excel.
• Ability to maintain the confidentiality of credit and customer information.

• Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Finance, Accounting or Economics, or equivalent work experience.
• 7 years of experience in commercial lending environment with 5 years progressively responsible experience in credit evaluation, portfolio risk assessment and underwriting.

• Internal contacts consist of customers in portfolio and Bank personal.
• External contacts consist of outside COI's including accountants and attorneys.