Credit Officer Job Description and Responsibilities

A Credit Officer assesses credit risk and supports lending decisions across retail, commercial or corporate portfolios. This role is suitable for finance or lending professionals with strong analytical ability, attention to detail and a good understanding of credit policy who wish to work in credit assessment, underwriting or portfolio management.

Credit Officer Job Profile

The Credit Officer is responsible for evaluating the creditworthiness of applicants, structuring credit facilities and ensuring that approvals comply with internal policy and regulatory requirements. The role combines financial analysis, risk assessment and relationship management to maintain a healthy loan portfolio.

The primary purpose is to protect the organisation from undue credit risk while enabling responsible lending. The Credit Officer will work closely with relationship managers, compliance and credit committees to deliver timely, evidence based credit decisions.

Credit Officer Job Description

The Credit Officer conducts detailed analysis of borrower financial statements, cash flows and business models to determine repayment capacity and collateral adequacy. They prepare credit reports and proposals that clearly present risk factors, mitigants and recommended terms for approval by authorised decision makers.

In this role the officer monitors existing accounts for covenant compliance, early warning signs of deterioration and emerging portfolio trends. They participate in periodic portfolio reviews, recommend remedial action where necessary and support restructuring or recovery strategies in liaison with collections teams.

The Credit Officer must apply regulatory and internal policy standards consistently, maintain accurate documentation and contribute to continuous improvement of credit processes and reporting to senior management.

Credit Officer: Duties and Responsibilities

• Assess credit applications by analysing financial statements, cash flow forecasts and repayment projections.
• Prepare comprehensive credit proposals with risk analysis, recommended limits, pricing and security arrangements.
• Underwrite loans within delegated authority and refer higher risk cases to the credit committee for decision.
• Conduct customer due diligence and ensure documentation meets legal and compliance requirements.
• Monitor portfolio performance, covenant compliance and key risk indicators for early intervention.
• Recommend and implement credit risk mitigants such as covenants, guarantees and collateral structuring.
• Support restructuring, workout and recovery processes for impaired accounts in coordination with collections teams.
• Maintain accurate credit files and ensure timely updates to loan systems and management reports.
• Participate in periodic credit reviews and portfolio stress testing exercises.
• Provide guidance to relationship teams on credit policy interpretation and acceptable credit structures.
• Liaise with external parties including auditors, legal advisers and valuers where required.
• Prepare regular management information on credit exposures, concentrations and exception reporting.
• Contribute to the development and review of credit policies, procedures and underwriting standards.
• Deliver training and support to junior credit staff and provide constructive feedback on credit quality.

Credit Officer: Requirements and Qualifications

• Degree in finance, accounting, economics, or a related discipline.
• Minimum of three years relevant experience in credit analysis, lending or underwriting.
• Strong knowledge of financial statement analysis and credit risk assessment techniques.
• Ability to prepare clear, concise credit proposals and risk assessments.
• Good numeracy and analytical skills with attention to detail.
• Effective verbal and written communication skills for stakeholder engagement.
• Sound understanding of relevant regulatory and compliance requirements.
• Proven decision making within credit policy and experience applying risk mitigants.
• Experience monitoring loan portfolios and handling early warning indicators.
• Professional accounting or risk related qualification advantageous.
• High level of integrity and ability to handle confidential information appropriately.
• Organisational skills with the ability to prioritise and meet deadlines in a dynamic environment.
• Willingness to collaborate across teams and support continuous improvement initiatives.