Role and industry
Chief Lending Officer, Credit Union Recruiters
Financial Headhunters: Hire a Chief Lending Officer who has managed loan portfolio growth while keeping net worth ratios within NCUA compliance limits.
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 954-280-9139.
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?
Your new leader must keep the loan portfolio growing while maintaining capital ratios. Ask them to explain their experience reconciling member business lending targets with specific credit union charter limitations. How have they managed the trade-off between aggressive business development and the reality of loan loss provisions?
You need a person who manages underwriting queues and asset quality during both expansion and recession. We look for individuals who own the credit policy rather than those who delegate it to junior staff. We want to see if they can draft specific loan terms that allow staff to handle common applications without constant supervision.
The candidate must explain how they translated board-level risk limits into specific underwriting criteria for loan officers. We look for leaders who prioritize credit safety over simple volume. We ask how they explain a rejected loan application to a member business owner.
02
What do we check before you see anyone?
- 01We ask for specific examples of how they calculated the NCUA 5300 Call Report data and managed the net worth ratio during their last three fiscal years.
- 02We ask which specific loan origination software they used to set pricing and what settings they changed to stop high-risk consumer loans from entering the pipeline.
- 03We ask how they handled an examiner finding from an audit and what specific changes they made to the underwriting manual afterward.
- 04We ask how they split their time between residential mortgages and commercial member business loans and which specific asset class they grew by the largest percentage.
- 05We ask how they respond when a loan officer wants to approve a file that violates a credit policy limit.
- 06We ask if they managed a portfolio of the same asset size as your institution and how they adjusted their team when the asset size moved from one tier to the next.
03
Where do we find them?
We search for leaders currently at credit unions who are responsible for specific portfolio metrics. These people often move jobs because they want more control over the loan origination system configuration or a desire to move to a larger asset class.
We search for professionals at smaller lenders who have performed all underwriting tasks themselves. They move to credit unions to apply their credit standards to more complex portfolios.
To find your new leader, we look at the specific 5300 Call Report data for credit unions of similar asset size to see who has grown their commercial member business loan portfolio while holding loss provisions stable. Candidates often consider a move when their current board restricts their ability to adjust underwriting settings or when they seek responsibility for a larger range of residential mortgage products than their current charter allows. We ask them exactly what authority they have over the loan origination software configuration. If they say they only suggest changes to IT, they may lack the technical control you need. If they explain how they have personally adjusted risk parameters to block specific loan types, they demonstrate the direct policy ownership your institution requires.
04
Which hiring mistakes should you watch for?
- 01Hiring someone based on their years in the industry without asking if they have personally filed the regulatory reports required for your specific asset size.
- 02Choosing a candidate from a flat-growth credit union who has never had to scale an underwriting department during an expansion phase.
- 03Assuming a candidate who led a department knows how to build a credit risk model just because they used one as a user.
05
The search in three steps
- 01We identify credit unions of your size and pull the profiles of leaders who have actually grown their specific portfolio segments.
- 02We perform a technical check on their regulatory knowledge and verify they have handled the same loan types as your institution.
- 03We conduct a direct conversation about their underwriting standards to see if their policy style matches your board requirements.
06
Which related hiring decisions are worth comparing?
How your Chief Lending Officer search runs
From the opening to the start
Tell us who you need
Tell us about the job, your team and the experience you need.
We find and contact people
We research suitable people and speak with them about the job and their interest.
You meet the strongest candidates
We introduce candidates with relevant experience and explain why each could fit.
We help you complete the hire
We help with interview feedback, the offer and arrangements for the start.
Questions people ask
What is the lead time for receiving a shortlist?
We start contacting candidates immediately after we agree on the specific portfolio history required. You receive profiles as soon as we confirm they meet the technical requirements.
How do you vet candidates against our specific portfolio challenges?
We verify they have managed the specific asset classes you currently hold. We focus on their history with regulatory filings and their ability to scale an underwriting team.
How do you address counteroffers during the hiring process?
We ask candidates early what changes they want to make in their work that their current employer cannot provide. This identifies if they are actually looking for a new role or just a salary increase.
How do you maintain confidentiality during outreach?
We never name your institution until we confirm a candidate has the required technical background. You decide exactly how much information we share with them.
At what point are contingency fees payable?
Fees are set in a contract we sign before we start contacting anyone. You pay nothing until you select a candidate and they accept your offer.
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.
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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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