Real Estate Banking Associate

City National Bank of Florida•Coral Gables, FL

About The Position

The Real Estate Banker Associate is a developmental role designed to prepare an internal banker with a solid credit foundation to become a Real Estate Relationship Manager. Working alongside the Real Estate Banking Director and senior Relationship Managers, the Associate supports the origination, structuring, underwriting, closing, and ongoing management of commercial real estate relationships with professional developers and investors. Responsibility for client coverage and business development increases as the incumbent demonstrates proficiency. The Associate does not hold independent lending authority and operates in full compliance with the Bank’s credit, risk, regulatory, and documentation standards.

Requirements

2+ years of credit experience at a bank or financial institution, such as credit analyst, underwriter, portfolio manager, credit officer, or commercial lending support.
1+ years of commercial real estate credit, underwriting, or lending experience, including analysis of income-producing properties and sponsors.
Solid foundation in credit analysis, including financial statement analysis, cash flow and global cash flow analysis, guarantor liquidity and net worth analysis, and risk rating.
Working knowledge of, or demonstrated ability to quickly learn, commercial real estate concepts including net operating income, debt service coverage, loan-to-value, debt yield, capitalization rates, stress testing, and collateral valuation.
Understanding of the commercial lending and credit approval process, Bank credit policy, and the regulatory and compliance requirements that apply to commercial real estate lending.
Familiarity with commercial banking products and services, including loans, deposits, treasury management, and interest rate hedging.
Advanced proficiency in Excel and strong proficiency in Word, PowerPoint, and Outlook.
Clear and concise written communication, including credit write ups, client correspondence, and executive summaries.
Confident verbal communication and professional presence in meetings with clients, prospects, senior bankers, and credit partners.
Sound judgment and attention to detail, with the discipline to ask the right questions and escalate issues early.
Coachable and self-motivated; seeks feedback and applies it quickly.
Genuine interest in client relationships and business development, with the drive to grow into a Relationship Manager role.
Ability to manage multiple transactions, deadlines, and priorities with a strong sense of urgency and follow through.
Ability to build effective working relationships with clients and internal partners across Credit, Operations, and other lines of business.

Nice To Haves

Relevant certifications (e.g., Credit Analyst certification) are a plus.

Responsibilities

Analyzes borrower, guarantor, sponsor, property, and market information to assess repayment capacity, collateral support, transaction structure, and overall credit risk, including performance under stressed interest rate, vacancy, and exit assumptions.
Reviews rent rolls, operating statements, leases, appraisals, environmental reports, construction budgets, sources and uses, and other due diligence, and identifies issues that may affect value, cash flow, or repayment.
Prepares prescreen materials, proposals and term sheets, financial spreads, relationship assessments, and credit presentations for acquisition, refinance, bridge, and construction transactions in partnership with Real Estate Underwriting and Credit.
Researches submarkets, rent and sale comparables, sponsor track record, leasing trends, capitalization rates, and supply and demand to support underwriting conclusions and pricing recommendations.
Conducts and documents property and construction site inspections with senior bankers and maintains complete and accurate credit and relationship files.
Supports assigned Relationship Managers in covering client and prospect relationships, including pre-call plans, meeting preparation, relationship plans, proposals, and timely follow up.
Attends client, prospect, property, and sponsor meetings and assumes increasing responsibility for relationship coverage, prospecting, and business development as proficiency is demonstrated.
Develops new business through prospecting, referrals, centers of influence, and coordinated calling efforts, and records all client activity, meetings, and referrals in the Bank’s client management system in a timely manner.
Identifies deposit, treasury management, and cross-sell opportunities and makes qualified referrals to other CNB lines of business, supporting individual and team goals for loans, deposits, fee income, and client retention.
Monitors assigned loans and relationships, including annual reviews, renewals, covenant compliance, financial reporting requirements, construction draws, insurance and tax compliance, maturities, exceptions, and risk rating accuracy.
Serves as part of the first line of defense by promptly identifying and escalating adverse trends in borrower, guarantor, tenant, or property performance to the Relationship Manager, Credit, and management.
Coordinates with Credit, Loan Administration, Legal, Appraisal, Environmental, Construction Risk, Treasury Management, BSA/KYC, and Compliance to move transactions from prescreen through approval, documentation, closing, booking, and post-closing.
Prepares and maintains pipeline, portfolio, exposure, and maturity reports and other information required by Real Estate Banking leadership.
Completes the Real Estate Banking development plan, including formal credit, sales, and Bank training, structured mentorship, and periodic progress reviews with the Real Estate Banking Director, and remains current on internal policies and regulatory expectations.
Performs other duties and responsibilities as assigned.