Commercial Relationship Specialist

Fremont Bancorporation•Livermore, CA

9d•$34 - $38

About The Position

Fremont Bank — one of the Bay Area’s most respected and long-standing financial institutions — is seeking a strategic, hands-on professional to join and help advance our Commercial Lending team. This is a high-impact opportunity to contribute to the success of a mission-driven organization committed to excellence, community service, and strong client relationships. If you're energized by purpose-driven work, collaboration, and delivering meaningful results, we’d love to connect. The Commercial Relationship Specialist will be responsible for the origination, maintenance, and retention of a commercial client portfolio within approved geographic lending areas. The Commercial Relationship Specialist will also be responsible for developing these client relationships to meet ongoing established portfolio growth goals. The Specialist should have functional knowledge general credit skills, commercial real estate and business lending as well as the potential to achieve a high level and detailed understanding of Fremont Bank credit, deposit and treasury products. The Commercial Relationship Specialist will have the communication skills to clearly discuss and explain bank credit, deposit and treasury management products to current and prospective clients. The Specialist will work closely with the Credit Administration Department to provide timely closing of loans to meet established service levels in order to provide outstanding customer service to the bank's clients. The position also requires communications (both written and verbal) with the sales group, brokers, clients and/or third parties regarding status and requirements necessary to originate and close loan transactions. The Commercial Relationship Specialist (CRS) Development Plan is an 18–24‑month structured program designed to build a sustainable, high‑quality talent pipeline within Commercial Lending. The program equips new CRSs with the technical knowledge, sales capabilities, and relationship‑management skills required to successfully transition into a Commercial Relationship Manager (CRM) role. Through a combination of formal training, hands‑on portfolio exposure, and ongoing mentorship, participants develop a comprehensive understanding of Fremont Bank’s credit philosophies, lending products, sales processes, and client‑experience expectations. The program focuses on developing core competencies in financial analysis, commercial real estate and business lending, loan origination, portfolio management, cross‑functional collaboration, effective communication, and the ability to cross-sell by confidently speaking to products and services across the bank. CRSs will gain the ability to analyze borrower financials, structure and recommend credit solutions, present lending requests to credit committees, and articulate Fremont Bank’s credit, deposit, and treasury management offerings to clients and prospects. Participants engage closely with Senior CRMs, Credit Administration, and key operational teams to ensure they learn how to efficiently navigate the bank’s credit and sales workflows while delivering a high‑quality client experience. At its core, the CRS Development Plan serves as a strategic workforce‑planning initiative. By identifying and developing high‑potential talent, the program strengthens the organization’s bench for client‑facing commercial roles, reduces ramp‑up time for future CRMs, and ensures consistency in credit quality, portfolio growth, and relationship management. Upon program completion, CRSs are expected to demonstrate the skills, judgment, and professionalism required for promotion into the CRM role and to contribute meaningfully to Fremont Bank’s long‑term commercial lending growth and client‑service excellence.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Business Administration, Accounting, Economics, or a related field.
1–3 years of banking experience, or prior internship/rotational experience within a financial institution.
Basic understanding of financial statements, credit risk principles, and loan structuring. Proficiency in Microsoft Excel, Word, and PowerPoint.
Ability to interact professionally with clients and internal partners.
High attention to detail, sound judgment, and effective problem‑solving and time‑management skills.
Demonstrates integrity, accountability, and a professional demeanor while upholding Fremont Bank’s values and ethical standards.

Nice To Haves

Experience supporting commercial lending teams
Exposure to commercial credit underwriting
Hands‑on experience reviewing or preparing credit memos
Familiarity with bank products and services
Prior client‑facing experience
Completion of formal credit training
Knowledge of regulatory and compliance requirements
Credit and financial statement analysis
Relationship management support
Business acumen
Communication and client‑service orientation
Teamwork and collaboration
Time management and adaptability
Systems and technology proficiency
Professional representation internally and externally

Responsibilities

Successful completion of training programs
Attaining personal annual commercial lending thresholds
Supports unit's growth and profitability through calling on existing and potential clients
Identifies business needs and corresponding sales opportunities bank wide
Works closely with Wealth Management, Treasury, Cash Management and other major areas of the bank to promote sales and implementation of complete suite of financial products and services
Provides assistance to clients with transactions by contacting appropriate department
Acts as a liaison between clients and other departments
Maintains thresholds around retention and growth of portfolio
Facilitates approval decisions on loans and terms within lending limits
Makes recommendations to appropriate lending authority
Negotiates terms and conditions of loans with clients
Attends commercial lending department sales meetings as required
Responsible for collection of past due loans in their portfolio
Refer to the Roles and Responsibilities section for core responsibilities. In addition to those duties, the CRS will support client relationship development, assist in loan origination and portfolio management, strengthen foundational credit skills, and learn to navigate Fremont Bank’s sales and credit processes.
Develop a working understanding of all Fremont Bank products and services.
Learn to efficiently navigate Fremont Bank’s credit and sales processes to support timely and accurate deal execution.
Work closely with CRM’s, credit analysts, loan operations and treasury management to ensure exceptional client experience and deal execution
Support CRMs in developing, managing, and expanding client relationships by identifying client needs, recommending appropriate structures, and referring opportunities to the appropriate business partners.
Assist in originating new commercial loans through prospecting activities such as cold calling. Partner with senior CRMs to help manage portfolios, participate in sales calls, review incoming loan requests, and form preliminary recommendations.
Build foundational credit skills in both real estate and C&I lending by reviewing and creating spreads of financial statements, assessing creditworthiness, and preparing credit presentations for respective committees.
Attend and contribute to client meetings, perform financial spreads, assist in preparing and presenting credit memorandums, track documentation and closing milestones, support monitoring activities, participate in sales origination efforts (cold calls, emails, door‑to‑door outreach), attend credit workshops and ABA,RMA and CBA training, shadow senior CRMs, and review both funded and new loan requests to form recommendations.