Commercial Loan Assistant

Commercial Loan Administrator

Bankwell is a commercial bank with more than $3 billion in assets that serves the banking needs of businesses and individuals. At Bankwell, we pride ourselves on our unique ability to bring you high touch, high quality banking with the expertise and dedication of our experienced team of professionals. When it comes to business, our deep industry knowledge, flexibility and innovative treasury and financing services enable us to find the right solutions for our business and commercial clients. We're passionate about giving back and are actively involved with many not-for-profit organizations that help shape and improve the lives of others. We're dedicated to giving our time and talent to support the communities we serve.

The Commercial Loan Administrator is a key member of the Lending team, providing Life of Loan administration of the Commercial Loan portfolios including but not limited to C&I, CRE, Specialized Lending, Small Business and Workout. CLA's ensure adherence to policy and regulation, provide excellence in customer service and are the connection between the Lending Teams and the Back Office Operation teams, exercising sound judgment in resolving loan administration issues and recommending solutions to support effective portfolio management and regulatory compliance.

Responsibilities include, but are not limited to the following:

• Providing excellent customer service, including handling customer requests for information, resolving questions or issues, advances, paydowns, transfers, etc. Maintaining highest level of confidentiality with customer information.
• Accurately balancing and processing Advances, Payments, Disbursements, Fees and Expenses for Loan Closings. Initiating wire transfers, deposit debits/credits and internal GL transactions
• Maintaining the bank's fiduciary responsibility in safekeeping of legal documents, including tracking and ensuring receipt, and secure delivery to Loan Operations for filing in the final repository/vault.
• Reviewing and clearing loan exceptions and tickler items with members of the Lending team and/or the customer as needed, determining appropriate resolution and escalating issues when necessary.
• Reviewing less complex (with Sr. CLA's and/or the team of RM's, PM's and attorneys) Legal Documents for accuracy, completeness, and adherence to the Loan Submission prior to Loan Closings, identifying discrepancies and recommending appropriate corrective action.
• Preparing in-house documents for smaller non-complex loans, coordinating closings with Lending Team
• Assisting Sr. CLA's with administering commercial construction loan portfolio including the preparation of construction loan advances, ordering of site inspections, review of borrower documentation, and advancing of funds
• Assisting Sr. CLA's with the Administrative Agent role for operational aspects including but not limited to advances (including construction loans), payments, rate changes, fee distribution, manually creating and issuing Agent notices, responding to inquiries and resolving differences.
• Coordinating bids, ordering appraisals as requested, assist with other third-party reports if needed
• Ensuring specific adherence to Flood Regulations including but not limited to ordering Standard Flood Hazard Determinations, obtaining customer signature on the Notice of Special Flood Hazards and Availability of Federal Disaster Relief Assistance, determining insurance requirements and receipt of flood insurance prior to closing/disbursement of funds.
• Ensuring specific adherence to Beneficial Ownership Regulations including customer completion of any required forms and related CIP activities
• Ensuring the accuracy of coding, balancing, and properly preparing the input forms, checklists, spreadsheets and any other items required for submission of the closing package to Loan Operations for input. Reviewing and validating information for completeness and identifying issues requiring resolution when reviewing work completed by other CLA's/Sr. CLA's
• Recording mortgages, modifications and UCC-1 statements for all non-attorney closings
• Reviewing, obtaining approvals, and submitting invoices to accounting for payment in a timely manner
• Determining CRA and HMDA reportable loans. Completing and/or reviewing related input forms and packages for Compliance.
• Assisting in the coordination and review of monthly board reports if requested
• Participating in special projects, audits and other administrative tasks as necessary
• Working with the Sr. CLA's to identify situations that may have a negative impact on the Bank's Commercial loan portfolio risk profile, analyzing issues and recommending solutions and process improvements to mitigate risk. Creating, organizing and maintaining all credit files
• Archiving or proper destruction of paid loan files not held by Loan Operations (both paper and electronic) as necessary
• Identifying and recommending process improvement opportunities to enhance efficiencies
• Remaining current on all pertinent lending and other financial institution related laws and regulations, serving as a resource to team members on regulatory and loan administration requirements and sharing knowledge with other CLA's and team members as appropriate.

Requirements

Qualifications & Skills:

• Self-starter, ability to work independently, ability to work from home if necessary
• Excellent customer service skills, attentiveness, and information retention
• Ability to exercise sound judgment and make independent decisions regarding customer transactions, operational issues, and risk concerns, while recognizing when escalation is appropriate
• Must be proficient in Microsoft Software products, Loan Systems (Fiserv preferred)
• Ability/Willingness to contribute positively as part of a team
• Ability to work effectively with a strong will to help others
• Strong attention to detail, and highly organized
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Thrives in a high pressure environment and has the ability to work with tight deadlines
• Perform assigned tasks accurately and on a timely basis
• Ability to recommend process improvements in the department to enhance efficiency
• Adheres to all applicable Policies and Procedures

Education/Experience:

• Minimum 3 years of Banking/Finance/Cashier experience in a similar role.
• Loan documentation prep, review, and interpretation experience preferred.
• Experience in SBA administration, commercial real estate administration, and/or construction administration is a plus
• Bachelor's degree preferred but not required

FLSA Status: Exempt

This job description is a general description of essential job functions. It is not intended as an employment contract, nor is it intended to describe all duties someone in this position may perform. All employees are expected to perform tasks assigned by supervisory personnel, regardless of job titles or routine job duties.

Bankwell is committed to a policy of Equal Employment Opportunity and will not discriminate against any applicant or employee on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin or ancestry, age, physical or mental disability, veteran or military status, marital status, or any other legally recognized protected basis under federal, state or local laws.

Applicants with disabilities may be entitled to reasonable accommodation under the terms of Americans with Disabilities Act and certain other state or local laws. Please inform Bankwell's Human Resources representative if you need assistance completing any forms or to otherwise participate in the application process.

All employees are responsible for complying with banking regulations that apply to Bankwell. This includes, but is not limited to, adhering to the BSA and various consumer protection regulations, and complying with OFAC sanctions. Employees are required to complete compliance training and follow policies and procedures for applicable regulations based on their role. An employee's failure to comply with banking regulations will be individually reviewed and assessed. The result of non-compliance may impact job performance ratings and may be serious enough to require termination of employment.