Associate Director, Insurance Lending Credit

EQ Bank | Equitable Bank; Toronto; On-site; CAD 100,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

EQ Bank, a leading Challenger Bank in Canada, seeks an Associate Director of Insurance Lending Credit to lead the underwriting team. This pivotal role focuses on ensuring operational excellence and credit quality while fostering relationships with partners. Ideal candidates will have substantial commercial banking experience, strong leadership abilities, and a commitment to innovative lending solutions.

Benefits

Competitive discretionary bonus

Market leading RRSP match program

Medical, dental, vision, life, and disability benefits

Employee Share Purchase Plan

Generous vacation policy and personal days

Virtual events for team bonding

Annual professional development allowance

Qualifications

• 5+ years of commercial banking (commercial credit) experience.
• 4+ years in a leadership or team management role, ideally within financial services.
• Exceptional communication and negotiation skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead and manage the insurance lending underwriting team.
• Monitor and manage the insurance lending pipeline.
• Oversee deal structuring and pricing strategies.

Skills

Commercial banking experience

Credit assessment

Relationship management

Leadership

Education

Post-secondary education in finance, business, or related field

Tools

Microsoft Excel

Microsoft Word

Job description

Join a Challenger

Being a traditional bank just isn’t our thing. We are big believers in innovating the banking experience because we believe Canadians deserve better options, and we challenge ourselves and our teams to creatively transform what’s possible in banking. Our team is made up of inquisitive and agile minds that find smarter ways of doing things. If you’re not afraid of taking on big challenges and redefining the future, you belong with us. You’ll get to work with people who will encourage you to reach new heights. We like to keep things fun, ask questions and learn together.

We are a big (and growing!) family. Overall we serve more than 670,000 people acrossCanadathrough Equitable Bank,Canada'sChallenger Bank, and have been around for more than 50 years. Equitable Bank's wholly-owned subsidiary, Concentra Bank, supports credit unions acrossCanadathat serve more than six million members. Together we have over$125 billionin combined assets under management and administration, with a clear mandate to drive change in Canadian banking to enrich people's lives. Our customers have named our EQ Bank digital platform (eqbank.ca) one of the top banks in Canada on the Forbes World's Best Banks list since 2021.

The Work

The Associate Director, Insurance Lending Credit is responsible for leading and managing the Insurance Lending underwriting team within Equitable Bank's Growth Businesses division. This position focuses on ensuring operational excellence, credit quality, and team effectiveness in delivering innovative lending solutions tailored to clients utilizing insurance as part of their financial strategy.

As a key leadership role, this position oversees the insurance lending credit pipeline, provides credit adjudication within delegated authority, supports strategic business development initiatives, and ensures compliance with all regulatory and internal credit policies. The Associate Director also acts as a liaison with external partners—including insurance advisors and brokers—to drive business growth and foster enduring client relationships.

While the position does not involve direct sales responsibilities, it plays a pivotal role in enabling origination success and maintaining strong relationships with key business partners to grow the insurance lending portfolio.

The Core Responsibilities!

• Lead, manage and coach the insurance lending underwriting team to ensure high performance, compliance, and exceptional service delivery.
• Monitor and manage the insurance lending pipeline, ensuring prudent credit decisions aligned with risk appetite and profitability goals.
• Provide training and mentorship to underwriters and managers to enhance expertise in insurance-based lending solutions.
• Supervise daily operations, resource allocation, and workload distribution across the team to ensure efficient, timely execution.
• Oversee deal structuring and pricing strategies to meet client needs while protecting the Bank’s interests.
• Partner with sales and business development teams to support new insurance lending opportunities and maintain broker/advisor relationships.
• Maintain a disciplined approach to operational risk management and ensure adherence to internal controls and regulatory standards.
• Represent the business unit in meetings with Senior Management, providing updates on performance, market trends, and strategic initiatives.
• Collaborate with internal teams (e.g., Risk, Legal, Funding, Operations) and external stakeholders (e.g., insurance advisors, brokers, legal counsel) to support deal execution and product development.
• Maintain a strong understanding of life insurance policy structures and leverage this knowledge to evaluate loan suitability and creditworthiness.
• Develop and maintain underwriting procedures, risk frameworks, and business reports specific to the insurance lending portfolio.
• Support the continuous improvement of processes, technologies, and reporting tools to scale the insurance lending business.

Let's Talk About You!

• 5+ years of commercial banking (commercial credit) experience
• Experience in insurance lending would be considered an asset
• 4+ years in a leadership or team management role, ideally within financial services or credit underwriting.
• In-depth knowledge of commercial credit and underwriting methodologies.
• Strong credit acumen with the ability to assess complex financial transactions and mitigate risk effectively.
• Proven ability to lead teams in a fast-paced, high-volume environment.
• Exceptional communication, relationship management, and negotiation skills.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office, particularly Excel and Word.
• Post-secondary education in finance, business, or a related field.
• Sound knowledge of AML/ATF regulations and fraud risk in financial lending.
• Bilingualism in French is considered an asset.

What we offer [For full-time permanent roles]

Competitive discretionary bonus

Market leading RRSP match program

???? Medical, dental, vision, life, and disability benefits

Employee Share Purchase Plan

Maternity/Parental top-up while you care for your little one

Generous vacation policy and personal days

Virtual events to connect with your fellow colleagues

Annual professional development allowance and a comprehensive Career Development program

A fulfilling opportunity to join one of the top FinTechs and help create a new kind of banking experience

Equitable Bank is deeply committed to inclusion. Our organization is stronger and our employees thrive when we honour and celebrate everyone’s diverse experiences and perspectives. In tandem with that commitment, we support and encourage our staff to grow not just in their career path, but personally as well.

We commit to providing a barrier-free recruitment process and work environment for all applicants. Please let us know of any accommodations needed so that you can bring your best self to the application process and beyond.All candidates considered for hire must successfully pass a criminal background check and credit check to qualify for hire. While we appreciate your interest in applying, an Equitable recruiter will only contact leading candidates whose skills and qualifications closely match the requirements of the position.

We can’t wait to get to know you!