Financial Guidance Counselor

Fifth Third Bank•Grand Rapids, MI

About The Position

Under moderate supervision, the Financial Guidance Counselor assists, counsels, and guides customers toward workout alternatives based on their circumstances while complying with investor, company, federal, and insurer guidelines. The role is responsible for managing risk, following policies and procedures, and helping create a positive customer experience while operating within the Bank’s risk appetite. The counselor communicates with customers whose accounts are in default, seeks mutually beneficial resolutions, and helps identify and pursue suitable loss mitigation options. The role also responds to customer correspondence, documents communication, and works across multiple systems to evaluate and resolve delinquency issues. The position handles referrals from non-delinquent customers seeking alternatives that may allow them to retain ownership, and manages escalated interactions while maintaining quality and compliance standards.

Requirements

High school diploma or equivalent.
At least one year of collection experience, including knowledge of basic default timelines and procedures.
Knowledge of bank-owned, investor, and insurer guidelines for consumer lending.
Excellent written and verbal communication, comprehension, listening, and negotiation skills.
Ability to meet deadlines and work independently with a moderate level of supervision.
Strong analytical, problem-solving, and mathematical skills for financial counseling, evaluation, and interpretation of complex information.

Responsibilities

Contact defaulted customers using manual or automated dialing to obtain payment commitments and pursue mutually beneficial resolutions to delinquency.
Identify, negotiate, and pursue appropriate loss mitigation options to maximize customer satisfaction and investor return by offering alternative financial solutions.
Provide timely, appropriate responses to customer correspondence in compliance with company, state, and federal guidelines.
Record customer communication efforts accurately in the internal system of record, ensuring accounts are called and noted.
Manage time effectively and use multiple system platforms to identify, evaluate, and resolve reasons for delinquency.
Pursue resolutions for referrals from non-delinquent customers requesting alternatives that may allow them to retain ownership.
Overcome objections and use conflict-management strategies to handle escalated situations while complying with Fifth Third Quality Assurance procedures and providing outstanding customer service.
Multitask and work independently in a fast-paced environment while reviewing metrics and evaluating performance.
Identify, assess, manage, monitor, and report risks.