Mortgage Underwriter

AgWest Farm Credit•Spokane, WA

1d•Hybrid

About The Position

AgWest Farm Credit is seeking a Mortgage Underwriter I or II (internally known as Credit Underwriter or II) to join their Credit Approval department in Spokane, Washington. This full-time position reports to the Credit Approval and Underwriting III, VP. The role involves analyzing financial and business-related information from customers, applying financial expertise to determine credit worthiness, and mitigating risk in the Country Home Loan (CHL) mortgage program. The company is a member-owned financial cooperative serving farmers, ranchers, agribusinesses, and other rural clients across the Western United States, with a history spanning over 100 years as part of the Farm Credit System.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in business or ag-related field, or an equivalent combination of education and experience
Ability to read or learn to read financial statements, tax records and other financial documents
Ability to complete work in an acceptable timeframe to meet deadlines, goals, and objectives
Ability to handle sensitive and confidential information
Demonstrated oral and written communication skills
Ability to become proficient with systems and process across the company
Ability to work independently and as part of a team
Ability to establish rapport and maintain confidence with internal customers while balancing customer service, documentation quality, and prudent credit risk management.

Nice To Haves

Knowledge of loan programs and financially related services
Knowledge of agricultural practices

Responsibilities

Review CHL credit applications and supporting documentation to evaluate borrower credit worthiness, capital position, repayment capacity, collateral support and overall alignment with program requirements.
Analyze financial statements, including opinions and notes, tax records, “in house” prepared financial statements, and pro forma statements of potential borrowers to evaluate and ascertain credit worthiness.
Analyze credit memos and document independent analysis of pro-forma balance sheets, projection review, repayment assessment, collateral evaluation, and key risk factors.
Review and analyze for accuracy personal and complex business tax returns.
Assess large, complex, or unique CHL loan requests and documentation to facilitate appropriate risk decisions and support sound compliant loan structures.
Evaluate incomplete, inconsistent, or higher-risk loan information and identify documentation, policy or underwriting concerns that may impact approval decisions.
Review, recommend, and approve or reject CHL loans within assigned delegated authority, with emphasis on adherence to underwriting limits, program guidelines and sound risk management practices.
Route loan requests exceeding assigned authority to the appropriate approval channel, ensuring credit recommendations are complete, well-supported and clearly documented.
Understand the organization’s credit philosophy and demonstrate the ability to conceptually apply it to loan recommendations and decisions and support deviations to CHL mortgage program guidelines.
Provide field support for inquiries and potential loan requests, including early-stage guidance similar to a pre-approval process to help identify appropriate structure, documentation needs and potential credit concerns.
Serve as a quality review point for CHL loans in process; suspend or return requests when documentation is lacking, information is inconsistent or issues arise that must be resolved before approval or closing.
Clearly communicate and articulate the basis for credit decisions, conditions, approvals and denials, both verbally and in writing.
Engage in direct and sometimes difficult conversations with field staff regarding loan approvals, denials, documentation gaps, policy expectations and risk-based recommendations.
Make quality credit decisions to ensure implementation of sound, compliant loan structures adhering to AgWest documentation expectations, procedures, laws and regulations.
Maintain knowledge about relevant policies and procedures with a broad understanding of products and services offered outside the department.
Collaborate with various teams across assigned portfolio to support timely, accurate and well-documented credit decisions.
Perform all duties and maintain all standards in accordance with company policies procedures, and internal controls.
Occasionally travel for all-staff or team meetings not included in the standard travel requirements for the role.