Commercial Loan Closing Specialist

Fifth Third Bank • Cincinnati, OH

6d • $54,400 - $111,500 • Onsite

About The Position

The Commercial Loan Closing Specialist determines requirements, reviews and analyzes due diligence, and completes activities associated with commercial loan documentation and closing. The role confirms credit approval conditions are satisfied before commercial loan documents are prepared and identifies, requests, reviews, and interprets third-party documents needed to clear a loan to close. It coordinates documentation for commercial real estate and non-real-estate secured loans and works proactively with sales, credit, customers, attorneys, title companies, and vendors to meet borrower closing expectations. Under minimal supervision, the specialist reviews vendor documents, clears liens and credit conditions, and confirms loan-to-value ratios for a moderately complex line of loan products.

The specialist is accountable for managing risk within the Bank’s risk appetite, following policies and procedures, escalating concerns, and supporting a positive customer and colleague experience. The role also provides guidance to business partners and helps ensure individual and departmental goals and service-level agreements are met.

The position requires a high school diploma or equivalent and at least two years of experience focused on due diligence, loan documentation, or related work. A bachelor’s degree and commercial loan experience are preferred. The stated annual base pay range is $54,400 to $111,500, and the role is eligible for incentive compensation. The position is located in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Requirements

• High school diploma or equivalent.
• At least two years of experience focused on due diligence, loan documentation, or related work.
• Strong time-management and organizational skills.
• Understanding of applicable bank policies and procedures related to loan-closing conditions and vendor documents and services.
• Strong knowledge of common vendor documents, including title work, appraisals, flood determinations, and lien searches.
• Strong knowledge of loan documents and requirements.
• Strong knowledge of commercial lending and loans.
• Thorough understanding of business banking and commercial loan products.
• Thorough knowledge of business banking and commercial lending credit policies and guidelines.
• Thorough knowledge of loan documentation, collateral evaluation, lien perfection, and local, state, and federal regulatory requirements.
• Strong personal computer skills and demonstrated knowledge of Microsoft Excel, Word, and email.
• Ability to work independently with minimal direction.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills.
• Strong negotiation and interpersonal skills and a team orientation.
• Ability to meet deadlines under pressure.
• Ability to escalate issues appropriately and apply problem-solving and decision-making skills.

Nice To Haves

• Bachelor’s degree preferred.
• Commercial loan experience preferred.
• Thorough knowledge of B2B, CCAS, AFS, RIMS, CHQ, loan document preparation systems, equivalent vendor systems, and other banking systems preferred.

Responsibilities

• Review and analyze draft and final credit approvals or credit memoranda and determine due diligence requirements.
• Interpret loan approvals to identify borrower, collateral, guarantor, and loan requirements, and verify evidence of sufficient lending authority.
• Monitor newly received loans and work in process to manage workload.
• Order or interpret supplemental third-party due diligence, including title work, UCC searches, appraisals or evaluations, environmental reviews, flood determinations, insurance documents, surveys, entity documents, and other regulatory or compliance items.
• Ensure adherence to the Bank’s risk tolerance and escalate issues appropriately.
• Determine whether underwriting approval conditions have been satisfied, address deficiencies, and escalate questions or disputes when necessary.
• Determine expected closing dates and advise sales and credit of obstacles that could affect customer expectations.
• Coordinate closing dates and times with internal and external parties, including attorneys, title companies, customers, and relationship or financial center managers.
• Coordinate timely preparation of loan documents by internal and external counsel.
• Review loan documents and resolve shortfalls to ensure alignment with the transaction structure and credit approval.
• Review business entity structures and entity documents to establish which parties are authorized to bind an entity to a loan transaction.
• Contact customers directly to obtain documentation and coordinate closing dates and times when applicable.
• Collaborate with internal partners and share knowledge across divisions.
• Determine and obtain appropriate approval for compliance requirements, including CIP, Regulation U, consumer purpose, and flood requirements.
• Determine appropriate loan coding for portfolio and regulatory reporting, including loan purpose, collateral type, and obligation type.
• Apply knowledge of commercial loan documentation, legal and regulatory requirements, state regulations, policies, and procedures.
• Obtain and understand funding information and create or review settlement statements, providing direction for disbursement of loan proceeds.
• For internally prepared loans, make the final determination that due diligence, final credit approval, policies, and regulations are complete, then notify relevant parties and request document preparation.
• For attorney-prepared loans, make the final determination that due diligence, final credit approval, closing conditions, policies, and regulations are complete, then authorize the transaction to close.
• Work with outside counsel on externally prepared commercial loan documents, review documentation on the Bank’s behalf, and confirm due diligence items are addressed.
• Provide guidance and support to business partners to meet external customer needs and coach partners on retail business banking and commercial lending loan-closing processes.
• Communicate daily with financial center employees, business units, relationship managers, credit and underwriting teams, document preparation, REVG, title companies, third parties, attorneys, and flood vendors.
• Meet individual and departmental goals and service-level agreements.
• Stay current with and apply credit policies and procedures to mitigate risk.
• Review loan accounting systems, identify discrepancies between system structure and credit approval structure, and work with credit to resolve them.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Benefits

• Comprehensive benefits programs supporting physical, financial, emotional, and social well-being.
• Eligibility to participate in an incentive compensation plan, with payments based on company, line-of-business, and/or individual performance.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Education Level: High school or GED