Regional Credit Officer

Busey; Illinois; On-site; USD 160,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Busey is seeking a Regional Credit Officer to oversee commercial underwriting and portfolio management for designated markets, with emphasis on relationships and risk management in the Northern Illinois region.

The role leads a team of credit professionals and collaborates with Relationship Managers to structure loans, review portfolio health, and ensure adherence to policies and playbooks.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Business or Finance required.
• 10+ years of commercial credit experience with prior single signature authority.
• 5+ years in progressive management/leadership role with mid‑market loan relationships of $10–$100 million.
• Proficient knowledge of Microsoft Office.

Responsibilities

• Lead a team of Commercial Credit Officers, Underwriters and Analysts.
• Oversee timely underwriting and align with priorities from leadership.
• Assess credit risk using cash flow, liquidity, profitability and leverage.
• Review loan grades against policy definitions.
• Assist with portfolio management and covenant reviews.
• Support Relationship Managers in structuring loan opportunities.
• Maintain knowledge of loan policy, playbook and lending tech.
• Participate in pipeline meetings and communicate with senior leadership.

Skills

Communication skills

Interpersonal skills

Analytical skills

Presentation skills

Critical thinking

Credit knowledge

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Business or Finance

Tools

Microsoft Office

Job description

Position Summary

The Regional Credit Officer (RCO) oversees commercial credit underwriting and portfolio management for designated markets and lines of business, playing a critical role in developing sound borrower relationships, monitoring portfolio performance, and identifying and managing associated credit risks.

Duties & Responsibilities

• Manage a team of Commercial Credit Officers, Commercial Underwriters and Credit Analysts, including hiring, training, mentoring, and on-going professional development
• Ensure that timely underwriting is being achieved through regular communication with your team. Additionally communicate with Regional/Market leadership to ensure awareness of priorities for workflow
• Use financial data such as cash flow, liquidity, profitability, and leverage to determine and minimize the overall risk of extending credit to businesses and individuals
• Review the prospective loan grade of each approval to ensure it aligns with regulatory and policy definitions
• Assist with Portfolio Management duties that include reviewing financial covenants, annual/quarterly portfolio reviews, sensitive asset reports, exceptions reporting and monitoring borrowing bases
• Assist Commercial Relationship Managers with structuring loan opportunities through the preparation and review of opportunity memos, including establishing appropriate financial covenant structures, for new and existing relationships
• Maintain a working knowledge of the Commercial Banking Loan Policy, playbook and commercial lending technology platform
• Assist in the sales process, including accompanying Relationship Managers on customer and prospect calls
• Approve loans that are within defined authority levels; recommend loans for approval that are in excess of defined authority levels
• Participate in pipeline meetings to develop knowledge of prospective opportunities as well as upcoming renewals
• Communicate upstream with the Senior RCO and other Regional/Market leadership regularly to maintain an open dialogue regarding personnel matters, pipeline updates, credit migration/deterioration, including raising potential solutions to identified issues
• Serve as the Subject Matter Expert on Commercial & Industrial (C&I) borrowers and prospects for the Northern Illinois region.
• Assist with other duties or special projects as assigned

Education & Experience

Knowledge Of

• Excellent oral and written communication skills
• Strong interpersonal, organizational, analytical, presentation, and critical thinking skills
• Comprehensive knowledge of the overall departmental function, including expert knowledge in Busey’s Commercial/Credit line of business

Ability To

• Provide accurate and timely Commercial Analysis and Approval
• Take independent action within established options and develops new procedures and approaches to problems when necessary
• Analyze situations and solve problems
• Perform duties and make decisions under frequent time pressures

Education And Training

• Requires Bachelor’s degree with a concentration in Business or Finance
• Requires 10 or more years of Commercial Credit experience with prior single signature approval authority
• Requires 5 or more years experience in a progressive management/leadership role
• Requires 5 or more years of prior experience with middle market-sized businesses with loan relationships of $10-$100 million
• Requires proficient knowledge of Microsoft Office

Compensation And Benefits

Salary offered is based on factors, including but not limited to, the job duties, required qualifications and relevant experience, and local market trends. The role may be eligible for bonus or incentives based on company and individual performance. (Base Pay Range: $160,000-$190,000/year)

Busey provides a competitive Total Rewards package in return for your time, talents, efforts and ultimately, results. Your personal and professional well-being—now and in the years to come—are important to us. Busey’s Total Rewards include a competitive benefits package offering 401(k) match, profit sharing, employee stock purchase plan, paid time off, medical, dental, vision, company-paid life insurance and long-term disability, supplemental voluntary life insurance, short-term and long-term disability, wellness incentives and an employee assistance program. In addition, eligible associates may take advantage of pre-tax health savings accounts and flexible spending accounts. Visit Busey Total Rewards for more information.

Equal Opportunity

Busey values a diverse and inclusive workplace and strives to recruit, develop and retain individuals with exceptional talent. A team with diverse talent, working together, is essential to Busey’s commitment of delivering extraordinary excellence. Busey is an Equal Opportunity Employer including Disability/Vets. Visit Busey.com/Careers to learn more about Busey’s Equal Opportunity Employment.

Unsolicited Resumes

Busey Bank, and its subsidiaries, does not accept any liability for fees for resumes from recruiters or employment agencies ("Agency"), without a binding, written recruitment agreement between Busey and Agency describing the services and specific job openings ("Agreement"). Busey may consider any candidate for whom an Agency has submitted an unsolicited resume and explicitly reserves the right to hire those candidate(s) without any financial obligation to the Agency, unless an Agreement is in place. Any email or verbal contact with any Busey associate is inadequate to create a binding agreement. Agencies without an Agreement are requested not to contact any associates of Busey with recruiting inquiries or resumes. Busey respectfully requests no phone calls or emails.