Chief Lending Officer

Job Description

The Chief Lending Officer (CLO) is responsible for leading lending strategy, driving loan production and portfolio growth, maintaining strong credit quality, and developing a high-performing lending team. Reporting directly to the President/CEO, this senior leadership role oversees lending professionals and is accountable for achieving production goals while ensuring lending activities align with the institution’s strategic objectives, credit policies, and regulatory requirements.

The portfolio focuses primarily on foreign national residential mortgage lending and commercial real estate (CRE), with additional responsibility for commercial and industrial (C&I) lending.

Job Responsibilities

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• Establish and manage individual and team loan production goals aligned with annual budgets and strategic lending objectives.
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• Personally generate loan volume through business development, senior-level client relationships, and complex or high-value lending transactions.
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• Monitor loan pipelines, closing rates, portfolio growth, and lender performance, implementing corrective actions when targets are not being met.
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• Lead, mentor, and develop lending professionals across experience levels, fostering accountability and strong performance.
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• Build and maintain referral relationships with real estate brokers, attorneys, CPAs, developers, and community organizations.
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• Oversee the loan portfolio, with particular emphasis on foreign national residential mortgages and commercial real estate.
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• Review loan packages from origination through closing to ensure accuracy, completeness, appropriate loan structure, and compliance with underwriting standards.
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• Evaluate credit requests, collateral adequacy, borrower risk, and regulatory considerations within assigned lending authority.
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• Prepare and present credit requests to the Loan Committee, providing clear recommendations and supporting analysis.
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• Administer and enforce credit policies, ensuring consistent underwriting practices and recommending policy updates when appropriate.
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• Prepare and present loan production reports, pipeline updates, portfolio composition, growth metrics, and trend analysis to senior management and the Board Loan Committee.
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• Identify new lending opportunities and recommend strategies for sustainable portfolio growth while maintaining appropriate credit discipline.
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• Ensure compliance with applicable banking regulations, including BSA/AML considerations related to foreign national lending.
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Qualifications

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• Bachelor's degree in Finance, Business Administration, Economics, or a related field required.
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• 10–15 years of progressive commercial lending experience at a community bank or comparable financial institution.
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• At least 5 years of senior lending leadership experience with direct team management responsibilities.
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• Demonstrated success meeting or exceeding loan production and portfolio growth targets.
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• Strong expertise in commercial real estate underwriting and loan structuring.
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• Experience with foreign national residential mortgage lending.
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• C&I lending experience sufficient to oversee and guide small business and commercial lending portfolios.
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• Strong credit analysis and underwriting knowledge, including experience presenting to loan committees and boards of directors.
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• Proven business development, relationship management, and community networking skills.
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• Demonstrated ability to coach, evaluate, and develop lending professionals.
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• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including executive-level reporting.
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• Familiarity with banking regulations and BSA/AML requirements.
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• Proficiency with loan origination systems and reporting tools.
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• Graduate banking school designation preferred; an MBA or other advanced degree is a plus.
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