Senior Credit Underwriter

Central Bank of Kansas City; Missouri; On-site; USD 90,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

Central Bank of Kansas City is seeking an experienced Senior Credit Underwriter to join the Credit team. This role provides high-quality underwriting and independent credit analysis for complex C&I and CRE relationships, and serves as a technical resource to strengthen underwriting standards.

The successful candidate will evaluate repayment sources, analyze borrower and guarantor financial condition, and prepare clear credit presentations.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in finance, accounting, business, economics, or related field preferred.
• Minimum 5 years of progressively responsible commercial credit analysis or underwriting experience.
• Experience with C&I and CRE transactions.
• Strong knowledge of financial statements, tax returns, cash flow analysis, debt service capacity, leverage, liquidity.
• Ability to underwrite complex transactions with limited direction.
• Mentoring or guidance of less-experienced analysts is preferred.
• Experience with affordable housing, NMTC, or CDFI lending is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Independently underwrite new, renewal, modification, and annual-review requests involving C&I and CRE relationships.
• Evaluate repayment sources and assumptions.
• Analyze borrower and guarantor financial condition, historical performance, projections, liquidity, leverage, collateral, and industry considerations.
• Prepare clear, decision-useful credit presentations identifying strengths, weaknesses, risks, mitigants, and questions.
• Evaluate loan structure, amortization, tenor, covenants, collateral, and terms relative to risks.
• Support accurate and well-documented risk-rating recommendations.
• Analyze business financial statements, tax returns, cash flow, liquidity needs, and working-capital cycles.
• Recommend structural protections and covenants for borrower risk.
• Underwrite investment CRE, owner-occupied CRE, and construction transactions.
• Review appraisals, rent rolls, operating statements, and sources and uses of funds.

Skills

Credit analysis

Underwriting

Communication

Mentoring

Attention to detail

Multitasking

Education

Bachelor's degree in finance, accounting, business, economics, or related field

Job description

Build sound credit decisions—and help strengthen the communities we serve.

Central Bank of Kansas City (CBKC) is looking for an experienced Senior Credit Underwriter to join our Credit team. This senior individual-contributor position provides high-quality underwriting and independent credit analysis for complex Commercial & Industrial (C&I) and Commercial Real Estate (CRE) relationships.

This opportunity is for an underwriter who can do more than calculate ratios. You will be expected to understand the business and transaction behind the numbers, identify the primary sources of repayment, distinguish material risks from noise, ask thoughtful questions, and communicate clear, well-supported conclusions.

You will also serve as a technical resource to other analysts and help CBKC strengthen its underwriting standards, analytical quality, and overall credit process.

As a Community Development Financial Institution, CBKC also finances projects and businesses that create meaningful community impact. Experience with affordable housing, Low-Income Housing Tax Credits, New Markets Tax Credits, or other community-development structures is valuable—but a demonstrated ability and willingness to learn complex structures is equally important.

What You’ll Do

Underwrite Commercial Credits

• Independently underwrite new, renewal, modification, and annual-review requests involving C&I and CRE relationships.
• Evaluate primary and secondary repayment sources and identify the assumptions on which repayment depends.
• Analyze borrower and guarantor financial condition, historical performance, projections, liquidity, leverage, collateral, and industry considerations.
• Prepare clear, decision-useful credit presentations identifying strengths, weaknesses, material risks, mitigants, and unresolved questions.
• Evaluate loan structure, amortization, tenor, covenants, collateral, guarantor support, and other terms relative to identified risks.
• Support accurate and well-documented risk-rating recommendations.

Analyze C&I Relationships

• Analyze business financial statements, tax returns, interim results, projections, and recurring cash flow.
• Evaluate working-capital cycles, accounts receivable, inventory, customer and vendor concentrations, borrowing-base considerations, and liquidity needs.
• Assess leverage, fixed-charge coverage, global cash flow, management performance, owner distributions, affiliate activity, and guarantor support.
• Recommend structural and covenant protections appropriate to the borrower’s operating risks.

Analyze Commercial Real Estate

• Underwrite investment CRE, owner-occupied CRE, and construction or development transactions.
• Evaluate property-level cash flow, debt-service coverage, occupancy, lease terms, tenant concentration, rollover risk, and sponsor support.
• Review appraisals, rent rolls, operating statements, construction budgets, sources and uses, equity contributions, and other third-party information.
• Assess loan-to-value, debt yield, breakeven occupancy, and sensitivity to changing rents, vacancy, expenses, capitalization rates, and interest rates.
• Evaluate sponsor liquidity, contingent liabilities, global cash flow, and the ability to support a project when needed.

Support Community-Development Finance

• Analyze affordable-housing, LIHTC, NMTC, and other mission-oriented transactions when assigned.
• Develop an understanding of layered capital structures involving tax-credit equity, subordinate debt, grants, and public or nonprofit funding.
• Work with lenders, legal counsel, and internal subject-matter experts to understand specialized structures and clearly document material risks.

Monitor Credit Quality

• Perform annual reviews, covenant testing, borrowing-base analysis, and other ongoing portfolio monitoring.
• Identify and promptly communicate material changes in borrower performance, collateral, guarantor strength, industry conditions, or repayment capacity.
• Support watch-list reviews, criticized-credit monitoring, and action-plan development when requested.
• Work collaboratively with lenders and Commercial Lending Coordinators to obtain information and complete reviews within established deadlines.

Strengthen the Credit Team

• Serve as a technical resource and informal mentor to Credit Analysts.
• Provide peer input on complex analytical issues when requested by the Credit Manager.
• Help identify recurring underwriting issues, training needs, and opportunities to improve templates, standards, and quality-control practices.

What We’re Looking For

• A bachelor’s degree in finance, accounting, business, economics, or a related field is preferred. Equivalent relevant commercial-credit and underwriting experience may be considered. Formal credit training or advanced banking education is valued.
• At least 5 years of progressively responsible commercial credit analysis, underwriting, or related commercial banking experience. Equivalent depth of experience will be considered.
• Demonstrated underwriting experience with both C&I and Commercial Real Estate transactions.
• Strong knowledge of commercial financial statements, tax returns, cash flow analysis, debt service capacity, leverage, liquidity, and guarantor analysis.
• Experience evaluating CRE cash flow, rent rolls, leases, appraisals, loan-to-value, and sponsor support.
• Ability to independently underwrite more complex transactions and identify material credit issues with limited direction.
• Strong written credit-presentation and verbal communication skills.
• Sound judgment, intellectual curiosity, organization, and attention to detail.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and deadlines while maintaining analytical quality.
• Experience mentoring or providing technical guidance to less‑experienced analysts is preferred.

Preferred Specialized Experience

Experience in one or more of the following areas is helpful but not required:

• Affordable-housing or LIHTC financing;
• New Markets Tax Credit transactions;
• Community-development finance or CDFI lending;
• Layered public-private capital structures; or
• Construction lending and other complex CRE transactions.

Equal Opportunity Statement

Central Bank of Kansas City is an equal opportunity employer. All applicants will be considered for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran status, or disability status. If you need an accommodation to apply for a position at Central Bank of Kansas City, please contact Human Resources at 816-483-1210.