Commercial Credit Associate, Commercial Real Estate

M&T Bank•Pittsburgh, PA

About The Position

The Commercial Credit Associate assesses and manages credit risk for commercial real estate clients at M&T Bank. The role analyzes financial statements, monitors loan portfolios, and supports compliance with credit policies and regulatory requirements. It serves as a link between relationship managers and credit risk management to support lending decisions and portfolio management. The associate underwrites new credit requests and material modifications from deal screening through approval and throughout the life of a loan, including recommending conditions when appropriate. The role monitors existing portfolios through annual reviews, interim update memos, covenant monitoring, problem-loan management, early-warning indicators, and other credit-surveillance activities. It reviews relevant financial, credit, due-diligence, appraisal, industry, and market information; prepares credit analyses and risk-rating recommendations; and recommends transaction structures using company, bank base, and downside scenarios. The position partners with relationship managers throughout the deal process, attends client and prospect calls, prepares financial spreads and models, and presents analyses and opinions on creditworthiness during credit discussions or committee presentations. It also supports credit-policy compliance, identifies issues for management escalation, helps maintain internal control standards, and contributes to the development and training of junior or newly hired analysts. This is a development account-coverage role that works with senior team members on complex transactions. It interacts with commercial banking relationship managers and other internal personnel, has expected customer interaction, and works independently with limited supervision. The role may lead transaction execution teams in partnership with a Commercial Credit Analyst.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, Economics, or a related field, plus at least 4 years of experience in commercial credit, public accounting, and financial statement analysis; alternatively, a combined minimum of 8 years of higher education and work experience, including at least 4 years in commercial credit, public accounting, financial statement preparation or analysis, or other financial analysis.
Strong verbal and written communication skills.
Strong analytical skills, including proficiency in financial modeling and credit-metric analysis.
Ability to calculate and interpret financial ratios, analyze data, and complete trend analysis.
Familiarity with legal documents and ability to understand structural elements efficiently.
Critical-thinking and problem-solving abilities.
Attention to detail and a high level of accuracy.
Strong organizational and time-management skills.
Ability to work independently and as part of a team.
Customer focus and strong interpersonal skills.
Proficiency with Microsoft Office.

Nice To Haves

Experience with Capital IQ, FactSet, and Bloomberg.
Experience with nCino.
Experience with commercial real estate credits.

Responsibilities

Underwrite new commercial credit requests and material modifications from deal screen through approval and for the life of the loan, including recommending the addition or removal of conditions.
Work with senior team members on challenging or complex transactions and account coverage.
Monitor existing loan portfolios through continuous credit monitoring, including annual reviews, interim update memos, covenant monitoring, problem-loan management, early-warning indicators, and other credit surveillance.
Review financial statements, tax returns, due-diligence reports, credit bureau information, appraisals, internal credit information, industry research, and peer data; determine whether further investigation or information is needed.
Analyze financial information and prepare credit analyses with an independent credit quality assessment, supported risk rating, credit risks and mitigants, industry and market concerns, financial trends, and other pertinent issues.
Recommend transaction structures based on analysis of company, bank base, and downside scenarios.
Identify suspicious activity and activity that may be contrary to a customer's interest.
Partner with relationship managers throughout the deal process to support timely and accurate risk ratings for a commercial credit portfolio.
Spread financial statements and prepare financial models, cash flows, collateral schedules, covenant sensitivity calculations, and guarantor statement analyses as appropriate.
Attend client and prospect calls with relationship managers to understand clients and their businesses for underwriting purposes.
Recommend risk ratings based on underwriting parameters; prepare summaries, present facts, and provide opinions concerning creditworthiness.
Present analyses and address questions during credit request discussions or committee presentations.
Verify adherence to the Commercial Credit Policy and comment on risks associated with non-compliance.
Adhere to company risk and regulatory standards, policies, and controls in accordance with the Company’s Risk Appetite; escalate risk-related issues to management as needed.
Promote an environment that supports belonging and reflects the M&T Bank brand.
Maintain internal control standards, including timely implementation of applicable internal and external audit points and issues raised by external regulators.
Provide input into the development and training of junior or newly hired analysts.
Lead transaction execution teams in partnership with a Commercial Credit Analyst, as needed.
Complete other related duties as assigned.