Role and industry

Commercial Lender / Relationship Manager Recruiters for Credit unions

Financial Headhunters: How to convert member relationships into profitable loans while maintaining required NCUA net worth ratios.

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.

Get a free talent snapshotGet a free job description review

Send Us Your Open Role

No upfront fee. You pay only if you hire.

Who do you need?

Looking for a job? Join our talent network.

The role
How soon do you need them?
Where should we reach you?

By sending, you agree that Financial Headhunters may store these details and contact you about this search. See the privacy page.

Financial Headhunters Salary Guide

  • 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

01

Round 5 Anatomy

Does the lender maintain member loan growth while meeting specific NCUA 5300 Call Report net worth requirements? Can the lender convert member business leads into funded loans while staying within your net worth limits? Do they understand the difference between credit union liquidity and bank lending cycles?

Ask them for their loan approval process. Request a walk-through of a specific C&I credit memo they authored. Can they explain how they mitigated the risk in a complex deal during an economic shift? Watch for a focus on credit discipline over just fee generation.

Assess their ability to switch between member advisory and hard credit analysis. Can they talk to a business owner about their needs and then write a clean credit report for the loan committee? A strong candidate explains their underwriting steps with total clarity.

Determine the actual responsibilities of their decision authority. Ask them to describe the dollar limits they held for loan originations without committee review. Probe for evidence of how they prepare for a loan committee meeting. Request a redacted copy of a complex credit memo they recently authored for a C&I deal. Evaluate their ability to defend their underwriting against committee questions. Ask them to recount a time they declined a loan request from a long-term member and how they handled the communication. This shows if they prioritize portfolio health over volume. Inquire about their process for identifying signs of distress in borrowers. Ask how they balance loan growth targets with the liquidity limits of a member-owned institution. Ask for a breakdown of their primary loan sources over the last three years to determine if they built these through local networking or internal referrals. Force them to explain the NCUA regulatory hurdles they met on their most challenging commercial real estate project. Test their knowledge of how they maintain documentation for auditors while moving deals. Do not accept vague descriptions. Demand details on how they manage environmental reviews, appraisals, and covenant monitoring. If they blame others for past documentation gaps, they are not the right fit. 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. Verify these details in the second interview.

  • 01Check their history of C&I or CRE loan growth versus charge-offs.
  • 02Verify they know the specifics of NCUA member business lending rules.
  • 03Test their ability to structure an owner-occupied CRE deal.
  • 04Review their process for monitoring existing portfolio quality.
  • 05Confirm they have successfully managed a pipeline from prospect to closing.
  • 06Check if their past deposit growth aligns with their commercial lending volume.

02

Finding the Right Lender

Look for lenders working in smaller credit unions or regional banks who feel limited by rigid bureaucracy. These candidates often move when they want more authority on local credit. They typically come from commercial banking teams that emphasize community relationship management.

Find candidates who have grown tired of purely transaction-based banking. They shift toward credit unions to offer personalized service and local autonomy. They value the member-first model where they retain direct communication with their borrowers throughout the loan life.

We begin by conducting a deep responsibilities conversation to map the current constraints of your portfolio against the specific appetite for risk within your local market. We ask candidates for evidence of their actual involvement in portfolio management versus business development, as these roles often pull in opposite directions. You must decide whether you need a hunter who requires support on technical underwriting or an analyst who needs coaching on member outreach. We demand specific proof of how they navigated a loan committee rejection during a period of rising interest rates. We verify if they managed the full lifecycle of a loan, including ongoing covenant monitoring, or if they relied on centralized back office support to handle documentation. This separation determines the actual workload they can carry once hired.

  • 01Over-promising loan amounts without regard for portfolio limits.
  • 02Relying on others to write credit memos instead of doing the work themselves.
  • 03Reject any applicant who cannot produce clear samples of audit-ready work papers.

03

The Search Process

We handle all screening and provide only those who meet your specific credit criteria.

You pay nothing upfront. We earn our fee only when you hire a person we introduce, per terms agreed in writing.

We identify active prospects and passive candidates who align with your lending goals.

  • 01Map the local lending market and identify professionals with appropriate portfolios.
  • 02Filter for individuals with demonstrated success in C&I and CRE loan growth.
  • 03Submit qualified profiles for your review and interview selection.

How your Commercial Lender / Relationship Manager search runs

From the opening to the start

  1. Tell us who you need

    Tell us about the job, your team and the experience you need.

  2. We find and contact people

    We research suitable people and speak with them about the job and their interest.

  3. You meet the strongest candidates

    We introduce candidates with relevant experience and explain why each could fit.

  4. We help you complete the hire

    We help with interview feedback, the offer and arrangements for the start.

Questions people ask

Do I pay for the search if I do not hire anyone?

No, our services are contingency based, so you pay only if you hire a candidate we introduce.

How do you verify their credit underwriting experience?

We ask for specific examples of credit memos and discuss how they handled past loan approvals and committee questions.

Can you help find a lender with a specific deposit book?

Yes, we screen for candidates based on their history of building both loan and deposit relationships within their specific market.

When must we pay for finding someone who converts member relationships into loans and growth?

No upfront fee. You pay only if you hire.

When will we meet candidates?

Timing depends on the requirements, location and pay. We discuss the likely obstacles after learning about the job and keep you informed as the search progresses.

How do you handle counteroffers?

We discuss why candidates want to move and what might make them stay. If a counteroffer comes up, we help both sides work through the decision without making promises for either party.

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.

Start a search

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.

Send Us Your Open Role

No upfront fee. You pay only if you hire.

Who do you need?

Looking for a job? Join our talent network.

The role
How soon do you need them?
Where should we reach you?

By sending, you agree that Financial Headhunters may store these details and contact you about this search. See the privacy page.

Not ready to start a search?

Get a practical read on the talent market or the job description. No fee or obligation.

CallStart a Search