Hiring situation
Opening a new market or loan production office: hiring a lending team
No postings. No stacks of resumes. No chasing. You interview a short list.
Financial Headhunters: A new lending unit requires leaders who prioritize local credit quality and immediate loan production over office size.
This is what we do all day: recruit accounting, finance, banking and insurance professionals.
No upfront fee. You pay only if you hire.
Need someone now? Call 305-306-4829.
We offer a candidate replacement guarantee on standard search agreements. The applicable period and exact terms are set out in the signed client recruiting agreement.
- Controller
- CFO
- VP Finance
- FP&A Director
- Accounting Manager
- Director of Accounting
- Assistant Controller
- Tax Director
- Treasury Manager
- Internal Audit Director
- Senior Accountant
- Financial Analyst
- Head of Financial Reporting
- Commercial Lender
- Chief Credit Officer
- Business Systems Finance Lead
- No upfront fee
- Pay only if you hire
- Accounting, finance, banking and insurance
- We reach people who aren’t on job boards
- Replacement terms on standard searches
01
What does this hire really come down to?
A loan production office functions when the lead hire separates new business acquisition from institutional risk protocols. These leaders must treat a new location as a technical project. They build pipelines while mapping the reporting lines that satisfy the home office. High performance requires open communication between the field and the central risk group. Frequent status updates catch errors before they grow into portfolio liabilities.
The hiring challenge involves the gap between market growth and strict adherence to credit rules. You need a person who builds deal flow in a new territory without ignoring underwriting standards. A leader who views local autonomy as a way to skip documentation adds risk to your balance sheet. You must favor credit safety over rapid market entry to protect the bank.
Ask who currently sets your credit limits in this market. If you lack defined authority, even a veteran market president will struggle. We look for candidates who handle the whole loan cycle. They must move from the first borrower meeting through underwriting and into recurring credit committee presentations. A capable lead avoids shortcuts and keeps total oversight of every loan.
02
What do we check before you see anyone?
We verify if the candidate writes their own credit memos or delegates the work. We ask which specific loan underwriting metrics they track daily. We confirm if they have built a loan pipeline from scratch or if they inherited a steady book of business. We ask for the names of their former direct reports to see if they prefer hiring experienced analysts or training new staff. We confirm they know the difference between a high-yield deal and a high-risk deal that hurts the bank.
03
Where do we find them?
We reach out to commercial lenders who feel stifled by headquarters paperwork. These people know how to generate loans but lack the power to make local decisions. We contact leaders at other local lending offices who currently report to a manager that creates extra administrative steps. We avoid people who chase high volume at the cost of high default rates.
These people move when they want to build a unit without the interference of legacy office rules. They want to set a team culture that focuses on direct loan production. We find them by researching regional banks where the decision-making is too far from the borrower. We look for those who have opened a new desk before and know the daily friction of starting from zero.
To identify qualified candidates, we target regional loan officers currently tied to slow institutional approval chains. These professionals frequently encounter friction where central risk departments override their local underwriting judgment. We prioritize individuals who document their own deal flow rather than those relying on corporate support staff. Ask the candidate to explain their process for reconciling a rejected loan file with a central committee. A response centered on peer review and data accuracy suggests they will respect your institutional risk protocols. An answer focused on complaining about unfair rejection criteria reveals a candidate likely to bypass your bank rules to force deal completion.
A primary driver for a move is the desire for genuine decision autonomy versus the rigid constraints of a mature, slow-moving branch. We look for bankers who have previously managed the balance between immediate revenue targets and stringent credit reporting requirements. Ask them how they manage loan pipeline tracking while simultaneously keeping current on internal compliance audits. If they describe a system of daily self-audits and personal oversight of every credit memo, they possess the discipline to operate a new production office. If they suggest that compliance is an obstacle that takes time away from selling, they will present a significant underwriting risk to your balance sheet.
04
Which hiring mistakes should you watch for?
- 01Hiring a person with a famous name who has never set up the data systems for a new office.
- 02Thinking a new office will be profitable in one quarter when the pipeline needs six months to mature.
- 03Leaving reporting duties unclear so the local leader and the central risk team fight about loan files.
05
The search in three steps
- 01DiagnosisWe define your loan limits and the reporting hierarchy to confirm the candidate wants the level of autonomy you offer.
- 02SourcingWe contact bankers in regional groups who have a history of starting and growing a new loan unit.
- 03ValidationWe test their technical knowledge to see if they can close loans while meeting your firm compliance rules.
06
Which related hiring decisions are worth comparing?
How your search runs
How does The Six-Step Search work?
One sequence, from a well-defined seat to a shortlist you can judge.
Search Calibration
We start with a call about the seat, the books, the owners and the people the hire will work with. We learn what the role must fix in the first year and what would make a candidate wrong even if the resume looks right.
You get: A written search brief: scope, must-haves, deal-breakers and the pay range, agreed with you.
Market Mapping
We map the companies and institutions where the right people already work: similar size, similar ownership, similar complexity, in your market and in others.
You get: The target list of companies and institutions we will search, reviewed with you before outreach.
Professional Contact Intelligence
We find direct ways to reach the people on the map. Most are employed and not reading job boards, so reaching them takes real research.
You get: Direct routes to people who are not on job boards, researched for your search.
Persistent Personalized Outreach
We call and write to people individually and follow up. Interest varies, so we discuss the actual opportunity rather than promising a particular response.
You get: One-to-one conversations about your actual role, followed up, never a mass email blast.
Live Candidate Qualification
We speak with every candidate before you do. We check scope, systems, reporting lines, compensation expectations, location and why they would move.
You get: Only candidates we have spoken with, checked on scope, systems, pay, location and motive.
Candidate Intelligence and Process Support
You receive a short written brief on each finalist covering what they have done, where they are thin and what they want. Then we help with interviews, references and the offer.
You get: A short written brief on each finalist, plus help with interviews, references, counteroffer risk and the offer.
Questions people ask
How long does it typically take to produce a shortlist for a new market?
We aim to show you relevant candidates within weeks. The actual speed depends on the rarity of the skills you need and the location of the office.
How do you determine if a candidate is a good cultural fit for a new office?
We look at how they solve conflicts between their local branch and central office. We pick leaders who explain the math behind every loan decision they make.
How do you prepare candidates to handle a potential counteroffer?
We talk to candidates about why they want to leave their current job. By focusing on the structural reasons for the move, we decrease the power of a counteroffer.
Can you keep this search private until we are ready for broader market awareness?
We keep your name out of our initial outreach. You choose when to contact the market openly.
What is the payment model for this permanent search?
You pay a fee only after you select and hire a candidate we introduce. This model aligns our pay with your actual hiring result.
What is the fee for a finance search?
No upfront fee. You pay only if you hire. The fee and terms are agreed in writing before we start.
What is your guarantee?
We offer a candidate replacement guarantee on standard search agreements. The applicable period and exact terms are set out in the signed client recruiting agreement.
What don't you do?
We do not post your finance job and forward whoever applies. We do not send stacks of unscreened resumes, and we do not recruit outside accounting, finance, banking and insurance.
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Tell us about the seat.
No upfront fee. You pay only if you hire.
We offer a candidate replacement guarantee on standard search agreements. The applicable period and exact terms are set out in the signed client recruiting agreement.
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