Fostering the Next Generation of Lending Leaders

Given ongoing market uncertainty and the talent shortages facing virtually every industry, and financial institution hiring managers face a tough road ahead, especially when it comes to hiring lending personnel.

The good news is there are some ways to successfully handle these challenges.

Don’t Underestimate the Value of Training

Many banks have redeployed talent from surplus to shortage areas to help save costs and bolster reputations. Other banks have offered training for new skills that people can use in their current jobs, known as upskilling, or for new jobs, known as re-skilling.

For example, some banks have upskilled financial advisers to better provide services remotely, re-skilled tellers to become “universal” bankers, and re-skilled other branch employees to learn how to perform back-office roles.

Upskilling and re-skilling are more cost-effective methods than the cycle of firing and hiring staff. Beyond cost-efficacy, these tactics also help support a more positive brand reputation by demonstrating the financial institution’s commitment to investing in its workforce, who are often customers themselves too.

By ensuring that your employees have the skills for different roles, they become more valuable to their financial institution employer because they can be shifted into different roles as your organization’s needs change. For example, universal bankers typically have both sales and service responsibilities, so they can shift between being personal bankers and tellers, depending on your institution’s needs at different times. As a testament to how well this tactic works, McKinsey & Company expects the number of universal bankers to grow by 20% per year by 2030.

Your financial institution’s strategy, overall staffing needs and market trends should guide your training program. This may include knowledge of the lending process, such as include the ability to conduct credit analysis, loan underwriting, prepare loan documentation, credit risk management, enterprise risk management, portfolio management and compliance risk management, just to name a few. Some of these skills may be needed for “junior positions, while others are for those looking for (or already in) more senior positions.

Qualities to Recruit For

For all roles, curiosity and strategic thinking are more important than ever. These skills are positive attributes for lending teams. Team members need to be curious and willing to learn how to analyze data to understand portfolio trends and performance, which can help reveal new opportunities for growth, better service for borrowers and more. To do this well requires a healthy dose of curiosity and a knack for strategic thinking.

You also want someone with a thirst for learning and understanding. While there are some general basics to evaluating a loan request, like cash flow, income and expense statements, every business and every loan request is unique. Your institution needs team members that seek out and can identify those unique attributes – be they good or bad – to help with making (or denying) the loan and monitoring the performance after a loan is funded.

Your bank may find some of these skills among current employees, but your institution may also need to seek them out externally, even outside of the traditional banking industry. A candidate may be able to code or is proficient in social media, skills that your financial institution could use, if it was aware of them. Ask your staff, you might be surprised in what you find.

This and other critical skills can be found not only in the financial services industry, but in other business sectors as well, so be open to candidates with non-financial backgrounds and be willing to offer training for the critical skillsets that you need today. The lending leaders of tomorrow may be closer than you think if you simply keep an open mind and are willing to invest in their career growth.

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Author Bio

Baker Hill empowers progressive financial institutions to increase revenue, reduce risk, and drive more profitable relationships.

Streamline business, consumer direct and indirect lending with our common origination platform. Understand profitability and risk at every level with our sophisticated business intelligence and analytics. Monitor and maintain a healthy financial portfolio with our statement analysis, exception, and risk management solutions.

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