Commercial Loan Assistant

Bankwell Financial Group•New Canaan, CT

79d

About The Position

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. More about Bankwell can be found at www.mybankwell.com Summary of Position: 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.

Requirements

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
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

Responsibilities

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.