Role and industry
Commercial Lender / Relationship Manager Recruiters for Community banks
No postings. No stacks of resumes. No chasing. You interview a short list.
Financial Headhunters: How to verify a commercial lender can originate deals and manage risk within your bank's constraints.
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?
Who identifies business owners with capital needs and prices the deal? This role requires someone who balances aggressive outreach with the rigid constraints of a local bank balance sheet. If they cannot talk about their specific deal size, their typical approval rate, and their actual process for managing a credit facility, they will fail here.
Expect them to own the entire credit process from initial outreach to loan closing. They must manage the internal approval flow with credit officers while maintaining borrower satisfaction. We look for candidates who can explain exactly how they handle a declining credit or a loan that fails to meet standard underwriting benchmarks.
Ask them these questions: What is the average dollar amount of your deals? Walk me through the last credit memo you authored. How do you handle a loan that was rejected by your credit committee? What is your strategy for prospecting in a saturated local market? Can you show me your track record on managing past due loans?
02
What do we check before you see anyone?
First, we confirm their portfolio size and recent performance. We ask for proof of production numbers and their role in credit approval. We reject vague claims of team success. Second, we verify credit training. We check their actual work samples for cash flow modeling and collateral valuation.
Third, we check their regulatory knowledge. They must know how to handle exams from the FDIC, OCC, or Fed. They need to explain their adherence to local lending policies. Fourth, we screen for CECL and ALCO awareness. They should be able to discuss how these frameworks affect their lending decisions.
Fifth, we test their ability to manage Call Report data. They need to show they know how their loans impact the overall bank performance metrics. Sixth, we verify their local presence. We look for evidence of active participation in local business associations and community groups relevant to their sector.
We begin by conducting a deep dive into the specific deal structures the lender currently manages to assess if their workflow matches your internal approval pace. We ask candidates to walk us through their exact decision path when a borrower presents a balance sheet weakness that threatens loan viability. We probe specifically on whether they prioritize booking volume or credit quality when those goals conflict within their current institution. We clarify whether they possess the autonomy to structure complex credits or if they rely on senior credit officers to define every term. This conversation exposes how they balance the speed of response to a client against the strict requirements of bank internal review. We verify whether they can independently identify specific loan risks without prompting from a credit department and confirm if their past underwriting decisions align with your bank appetite for long term risk mitigation.
03
Where do we find them?
We source candidates from other community and regional banks where they have hit a ceiling in portfolio growth or compensation. We also target lenders at larger institutions who feel like a small cog in a massive machine and want to return to a more local, relationship-based environment. We look for individuals who have exhausted their current growth potential due to bank mergers, management changes, or a shift in the bank's appetite for their specific loan type.
We focus on those who have managed portfolios through economic cycles. A candidate who only knows growth markets is a risk. We prioritize those who worked through downturns and maintained credit health. We also look for experts in CRE or equipment finance who want a platform with flexible decision authority.
04
Which hiring mistakes should you watch for?
- 01Hiring a lender who lacks a portable book of business and expects the bank to provide all new leads.
- 02Ignoring the candidate's history with loan portfolio defaults during difficult economic periods.
- 03Focusing too much on personality while failing to test their technical knowledge of credit underwriting and regulatory compliance.
05
The search in three steps
- 01We identify lenders currently working in similar asset-sized institutions who hold the required credit expertise.
- 02We conduct an initial technical screening to verify their portfolio track record and their understanding of current regulatory requirements.
- 03We present you with a short list of qualified candidates who match your specific growth and risk management needs.
06
Which related hiring decisions are worth comparing?
How your Commercial Lender / Relationship Manager 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
When is a fee owed for finding a producer to price risk and manage capital needs?
No upfront fee. You pay only if you hire.
What is the nature of our agreement?
All terms are agreed upon in writing before we begin our search. Our standard arrangement is for permanent placements.
How do you verify a lender's credit training?
We ask for specific examples of credit memos they have authored and quiz them on their underwriting process. We also ask for references that can confirm their technical proficiency.
How do you handle candidates from larger banks?
We determine if their experience in a larger, more structured bank can translate to your smaller, community-focused environment. We specifically look for those who want to move to a role with more direct decision-making authority.
What happens if the hire leaves?
If our candidate does not remain in your employ for a period of time as specified in our agreement, we will provide a replacement candidate under the terms we have agreed upon.
How soon will I see a Commercial Lender / Relationship Manager shortlist?
It depends on the seat, the location and the pay. We give you an honest read after the calibration call and we do not promise dates we cannot control.
What about counteroffers on a Commercial Lender / Relationship Manager hire?
We ask every Commercial Lender / Relationship Manager candidate early why they would move and what their employer might do to keep them. Counteroffer risk goes in the written brief before you make an 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.
What don't you do?
We do not post your Commercial Lender / Relationship Manager job and forward whoever applies. We do not send stacks of unscreened resumes, and we do not recruit outside accounting, finance, banking and insurance.
Start a search
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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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