Commercial Credit Senior Associate - CRE

M&T Bank•New York, NY

About The Position

The Commercial Credit Senior Associate assesses and manages credit risk for commercial clients, supporting sound lending decisions and portfolio management. This client-facing account coverage role focuses on transaction execution and portfolio management, partnering with relationship managers and senior team members on complex transactions and account coverage. The position works independently with limited supervision and may lead transaction execution teams in partnership with Commercial Credit Analysts. The role underwrites new credit requests and material modifications from deal screening through approval and throughout the life of the loan. It also monitors 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. The position reviews financial and credit information, completes analyses and financial models, recommends risk ratings and transaction structures, and supports compliance with credit policy and regulatory requirements. The role interacts with commercial banking relationship managers across the bank’s footprint and industry verticals, as well as other internal personnel involved in credit approvals. Customer interaction is expected. The Senior Associate also provides input into the development and training of junior and newly hired Analysts.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, Economics, or a related field, and 5 years of experience in commercial credit, public accounting, financial statement preparation or analysis, or other financial analysis; alternatively, a combined minimum of 9 years of higher education and work experience, including 5 years of relevant experience.
Strong analytical skills and proficiency in financial modeling and credit analysis.
Ability to calculate and interpret financial ratios, analyze data, and complete trend analysis.
Emerging proficiency in understanding and negotiating legal documentation, including structural analysis, and ability to structure transactions independently.
Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
Critical thinking and problem-solving abilities.
Attention to detail and a high level of accuracy.
Ability to work independently and as part of a team.
Strong organizational and time-management skills.
Customer focus, with strong interpersonal and relationship-building skills.
Proficiency in Microsoft Office.

Nice To Haves

Experience with Capital IQ, FactSet, and Bloomberg.

Responsibilities

Underwrite new commercial credit requests and material modifications from deal screening through approval and for the life of the loan, including recommending the addition or removal of conditions.
Manage ongoing credit risk through continuous credit monitoring, including annual reviews, interim update memos, covenant monitoring, problem loan management, early warning indicators, and other credit surveillance.
Review relevant credit and financial information, including financial statements, tax returns, due diligence reports, credit bureau reports, appraisals, internal credit information, industry research, and peer data.
Determine when further investigation or information is needed and coordinate gathering it.
Analyze financial information and complete credit analyses for commercial transactions, including independent credit quality assessments, supported risk ratings, credit risks and mitigants, industry concerns, market and financial trends, and other pertinent issues.
Recommend transaction structures based on analysis of the company's case, the bank's base case, and a downside case.
Identify suspicious activity or activity that may be contrary to a customer's interests while managing existing portfolio risk.
Partner proactively with relationship managers throughout the deal process and maintain timely, accurate risk ratings for a portfolio of commercial credits.
Spread financial statements and prepare financial models, cash flow analyses, 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 and support transaction analysis and underwriting.
Recommend risk ratings based on underwriting parameters; prepare summaries, present facts, and offer opinions concerning creditworthiness.
Assist in structuring loan requests, including recommendations on terms, conditions, controls, collateral, and guarantors.
Apply knowledge of the financial regulatory environment to underwriting commercial credit transactions and verify compliance with the Commercial Credit Policy.
Present analysis and address questions during credit request discussions or committee presentations.
Adhere to company risk and regulatory standards, policies, and controls in accordance with the Company's Risk Appetite, and escalate risk-related issues to management when needed.
Promote an environment that supports belonging and reflects the M&T Bank brand.
Maintain internal control standards, including timely implementation of internal and external audit points and applicable issues raised by external regulators.
Provide input into the development and training of junior and newly hired Analysts.
Complete other related duties as assigned.