Description/Job Summary

The Commercial Lender develops, grows, and services the large and specialized loan portfolio which is typically agribusiness, livestock, or investments in rural America. They also buy and sell loan participations and provide industry expertise to the regional offices to help originate and structure complex and specialized credits, including eligibility.

This job would help the northern regions of our 60-county territory including the offices of Sherman, Decatur, Paris, Watseka, and Mahomet. Office location is Mahomet.

Responsibilities/Duties

Business Development

• Identifies market potential
• Performs customer sales and prospects new customers
• Researches prospects to identify level of opportunity and creditworthiness
• Prioritizes opportunities and develops marketing plans
• Identifies key prospects
• Anticipates current customers' needs and offers solutions

Relationship Management

• Creates and develops relationships with commercial bankers, attorneys, accountants, USDA staff, professional trade associations, and others to identify opportunities and gather information
• Identifies key players and the level of opportunity available

Compliance

• Determines eligibility of specialized or unique prospects by reviewing Farm Credit Administration Regulations, association policies and procedures, and consulting with the General Counsel
• Analyzes ownership and management structure
• Determines the capacity of throughput (ag product processed)
• Analyzes if net or gross profit margin is primarily farm service related
• Reviews if Association loan criteria is met

Investments in Rural America Loan Origination

• Originates and coordinates investments in Rural America with the prospect, Credit Services Division, Association management, legal counsel and Farm Credit Administration
• Determines if the project qualifies for funding and if the funding structure meets FCA requirements
• Identifies terms to meet requirements of the customer, Commercial Bank and FCA

Financial Analysis

• Collects and assesses customer and prospective customer qualitative and quantitative business and financial information
• Analyzes each situation and develops a solution to meet the customer's needs
• Exercises sound judgment and studies the impact the decision will have on related areas of the association
• Develops loan structure and terms for recommendation to Credit Services Division
• Provides insight and supporting rational in Association loan committee

Loan Participations

• Determines loan pricing and fee structure for new loans, existing loans, and loans being sold or purchased via loan participations
• Calculates the Association's return on assets and return on investment and assesses the risk
• Establishes pricing that meets both the customer's needs and the Association's goals

Regional Office Support

• Assists the regional loan officers with joint sales and servicing calls
• Originates and negotiates solutions that are suitable for large or specialized credits by analyzing the risks, developing areas that need further clarification and assisting in gathering the information from the applicant
• Communicates the loan proposal and the terms to the applicant

Portfolio Servicing

• Closes, manages, monitors, and services agri-business loans and large and specialized loans that are part of either the Commercial Regional Office Portfolio or the Regional Office Portfolio
• Determines legal requirements have been met and ensures loan documents are accurate
• Assesses the risks and feasibility of customer requests
• Determines trends through review of financial information submitted

Continuous Education

• Attends activities to build upon expertise in various aspects of agriculture, finance and economics
• Enhances knowledge pertinent to the geographical region or territory

Construction Loans

• Monitors and manages the construction loan process and disbursements
• Makes construction inspections and reviews construction draw requests
• Coordinates disbursements with the customer, contractor and title company

Public Relations

• Participates in customer appreciation events and activities to enhance relationships
• Develops and maintains a professional presence in the ag community through active involvement in professional groups and community activities
• Monitors the public relations budget and time allocation
• Identifies key contacts, activities, and resources to build relationships

Industry Expertise

• Researches and develops industry expertise in areas such as grain elevators, milling, hog and cattle operations, and input supply
• Identifies industry key indicators and ratios
• Identifies industry trends and new developments
• Offers expertise to employees and customers

Dependent upon level, responsibilities may also include:

• Training

• Provides training to team members through information sharing, small group discussions, idea exchanges, job shadowing, and mentoring
• Determines topics and delivery method of trainings

Financial Analysis

• Analyzes financial strength and credit philosophy of commercial bank participation prospects and partners
• Determines key information resources, such as FDIC information, bank trends information, key ratios and numbers, and financial soundness of institution

Leasing Activities

• Coordinates, promotes, and coaches leasing activities between Association loan officers, Farm Credit Leasing and Association central loan accounting.
• Determines lease terms
• Compares lease to loan and lease pricing

AgDirect Leadership

• Leads the Point of Sale program, AgDirect, for the Association by representing Farm Credit Illinois at AgDirect leadership and partner meetings
• Strategizes and collaborates with the local AgDirect representative
• Reports program initiatives, performance, and updates to management

Required Skills

• Expert knowledge in credit analysis and regulatory requirements with respect to borrower's rights
• Working knowledge of macroeconomics
• Expert customer service skills, including the ability to communicate complicated information, deliver information effectively, and exceed customer expectations
• Skill in differentiating significant and insignificant details
• Skill in utilizing a systematic approach to problem solving
• Skill in interacting and working effectively with others
• Skill in engaging, collaborating, and building trust amongst team members
• Skill in negotiating complex agreements to achieve the best outcome for the organization
• Skill in balancing logic and intuition to make sound decisions in a timely manner
• Skill in interpreting and applying Generally Accepted Accounting Principles
• Oral and written communication skills sufficient to discuss a variety of job-related topics, and to effectively communicate complex topics to a variety of audiences

Preferred Experience

Experience in any of the following is preferred: grain merchandising, grain handling, Ag. input supply, milling, loan syndications/participations, large/complex traditional row crop operations

Required Qualifications

Bachelor's degree in business, finance or ag economics and at least 10 years of experience in agricultural and commercial sales and lending, including 10 years of credit analysis; Or an equivalent combination of education and experience sufficient to perform the essential functions of the job.

Details

Position location is negotiable within the southern portion of our 60-county territory.