High Net Worth Underwriter

Afin group; Greater London; On-site; GBP 45,000 - 60,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Life assurance (6x)

26 days annual leave

BUPA private medical insurance

Pension 15% (employer matched 10%)

Annual discretionary bonus eligibility

Colleague social events

Job summary

Afin Bank is seeking an experienced mortgage underwriter to assess high net worth clients from application to completion. You will evaluate income, wealth, liquidity and repayment capacity, making sound lending decisions within credit policy and risk appetite.

Join a growing UK bank regulated by the FCA and PRA, collaborating with brokers, risk and operations to progress cases, conduct financial crime checks and maintain auditable credit files while delivering strong customer outcomes.

Qualifications

• Proven experience underwriting UK mortgages or property-secured lending for HNW clients.
• Assess non-standard income, business-owner finances, overseas income, and balance sheets.
• Make decisions within delegated authority or provide robust recommendations.
• Knowledge of MCOB requirements, HNW eligibility and Consumer Duty.
• Evaluate high-value property, LTV, ownership and security.
• Clear credit writing and communication with brokers, valuers and solicitors.

Responsibilities

• Own a pipeline of HNW applications and meet service standards.
• Assess income, assets and liabilities using evidence.
• Evaluate assets for repayment capacity considering liquidity and currency exposure.
• Assess affordability under mortgage rules and provide tailored provisions.
• Review valuations and due diligence; assess LTV and security.
• Approve or decline cases within delegated authority or present recommendations.
• Collaborate with brokers, Credit Risk and Operations to progress cases.
• Complete financial crime checks with specialist teams.
• Maintain auditable credit files and escalate concerns.

Skills

HNW underwriting

UK mortgages

Credit risk assessment

Financial crime controls

Commercial judgement

Credit writing

Job description

Person Specification

Afin Bank is a UK Bank designed for individuals whose financial needs often go beyond traditional banking models. It caters to a diverse clientele, including self-employed professionals, foreign nationals, and high-net-worth individuals. Afin Bank offers a range of services, including savings accounts, mortgages, and investments, all aimed at helping customers achieve their financial goals.

Our products are tailored to meet the unique circumstances of their clients, ensuring that everyone's financial journey is supported and inclusive. Driven by our vision to make banking simple, fair, and built around the customer, we combine expert understanding with innovative thinking to help people achieve their financial goals with confidence.

Our mission is to support individuals and communities that are often overlooked by traditional lenders, creating a safe and inclusive environment where customers feel understood, valued, and empowered to succeed. Backed by WAICA Reinsurance Corporation Plc, one of the world's leading reinsurance groups, Afin Bank is built on a strong foundation of financial strength, expertise, and long-term stability. We are committed to delivering straightforward, supportive banking solutions that help our customers build stability, grow wealth, and plan confidently for the future.

Because at Afin Bank, we believe life doesn't fit in a box, and banking shouldn't either.

The role

You will responsible for underwriting complex mortgage and property-secured lending for high net worth (HNW) clients from application to completion. Assess the customer’s income, wealth, liquidity and repayment capacity, making sound lending decisions within Afin Bank’s credit policy, risk appetite and delegated authority. Combine commercial judgement with robust risk assessment and good customer outcomes in a growing UK bank regulated by the FCA and PRA.

Key Responsibilities

• Own a pipeline of HNW applications, resolving outstanding information and meeting agreed service standards without compromising credit quality.
• Assess complex income, assets and liabilities using appropriate evidence, including business accounts, tax records and investment statements. Evaluate the sustainability of bonuses, dividends, partnership income, investment returns and overseas earnings.
• Establish which assets and income are genuinely available to service and repay borrowing, considering ownership, existing commitments, liquidity, currency exposure and access restrictions.
• Assess affordability under applicable mortgage rules and the Bank’s policy. Evidence eligibility before using any permitted tailored HNW provisions; refer uncertain regulatory classifications or treatments to Compliance.
• Assess loan purpose, term and repayment structure, including interest-only lending where permitted. Evidence a credible capital repayment strategy and test sensitivity to income reductions, rate changes and asset-value falls.
• Review high-value property valuations and legal due diligence with valuers and solicitors. Assess loan-to-value, marketability, security enforceability and borrower or property concentration against policy limits.
• Approve or decline cases within delegated authority; otherwise present clear recommendations to the authorised decision-maker. Record the rationale, risks, mitigants and conditions, escalating policy exceptions appropriately.
• Work with brokers, Business Development, Credit Risk and Operations to progress cases, explain decisions and confirm underwriting conditions are met before funds are released.
• Complete required financial crime checks with specialist teams, including beneficial ownership, source of wealth and funds, sanctions and politically exposed person checks. Escalate concerns and obtain enhanced due diligence where required.
• Maintain accurate, auditable credit files; recognise vulnerability and escalating potential customer harm or complaints. Support monitoring and reviews of deteriorating cases, and improve underwriting criteria, workflows and case data.
• You will lead on lending decisions within personal delegated lending authority. Where an application falls outside that authority, prepare and present a clear credit recommendation to the appropriate mandate level.
• Further to complex cases, you will be part of the Credit Committee and present to CEO, CFO and CRO.
• You will produce clearly documented credit rationales; identify and elevate policy exceptions; assess source of funds and wealth and elevate any financial crime issues

Person Specification

Essential

• Proven, recent experience underwriting UK mortgages or property-secured lending for HNW customers, managing complex cases independently from application through to completion.
• Ability to assess non-standard or irregular income, business-owner finances, investments, overseas income and personal balance sheets, distinguishing headline wealth from accessible repayment resources.
• Sound credit judgement: experience making decisions within delegated authority or producing robust recommendations for authorised approval, with the confidence to challenge cases outside appetite.
• Practical knowledge of applicable MCOB requirements, HNW eligibility and tailored provisions, Consumer Duty and financial crime controls in the FCA/PRA banking environment.
• Strong assessment of high-value property, valuations, loan-to-value, legal ownership, security and interest-only repayment strategies. Ability to identify weaknesses and propose proportionate mitigants.
• Clear credit writing and confident communication with brokers, valuers, solicitors and colleagues. Strong organisation, attention to detail and ownership in a small, growing team.

Desirable

• Ultra-high net worth customers, trusts, partnerships, special purpose vehicles (SPVs), family investment structures and multiple-property security, within the lender’s approved product scope.
• Presenting complex credit proposals to senior approvers or a credit committee, and supporting portfolio reviews, arrears or forbearance decisions.
• Developing HNW lending criteria, credit policy, underwriting procedures or systems in a growing bank or specialist lender.

£45,000 - £60,000 a year

Conduct and accountability

Follow the Bank’s applicable FCA and PRA Conduct Rules, policies and controls. Act with integrity, due skill, care and diligence; be open and cooperative with regulators; treat customers fairly; observe proper standards of market conduct; and deliver good outcomes for retail customers where the relevant rule applies. Complete required training and raise risks, breaches and concerns promptly.

Our Values

• Curiosity
• Togetherness
• Empowerment
• Innovation

Benefits

Our benefits package consists of but not limited to:

• 6x life assurance
• 26 days annual leave
• BUPA private medical insurance
• 15% pension (5% employee contribution and double matched as 10% employer contribution)
• Annual discretionary bonus eligibility
• Access to a suite of competitive benefits under Health and Wellbeing
• Colleague social events

We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses and identifying potential inconsistencies or verification signals in application materials based on available information. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.