Senior Commercial Credit Analyst - C&I Lending

First American Bank was founded in Chicago, and over the years has expanded throughout Wisconsin and Florida. As the largest privately held bank in Illinois, we now have over 60 locations and assets of $5+ billion. We are a community bank at heart with international expertise, traditional values, and a forward-looking philosophy. Our employees have the experience and vision to meet the needs of savers, borrowers, and businesses in the 21st century. First American Bank can offer employees a level of visibility, career growth, and stability that is difficult to find in many larger corporations.

The Senior Commercial Credit Analyst supports current and prospective commercial banking relationships within the Commercial & Industrial Lending team. This role is responsible for preparing credit analyses and credit memos, performing financial statement and cash flow analysis, supporting underwriting and loan structuring, and completing credit risk assessment for commercial lending requests.

This position also partners closely with Portfolio Managers and Relationship Managers, supports portfolio needs, helps evaluate credit worthiness, risk rating, and collateral analysis, and provides guidance to junior analysts across the department.

DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITES

Credit Analysis & Underwriting

Prepare detailed credit memos for new and existing commercial relationships.
• Analyze financial statements, tax returns, and related information to assess borrower performance and credit worthiness.
• Perform cash flow analysis to evaluate repayment capacity and overall financial strength.
• Support underwriting and loan structuring for commercial and commercial & industrial lending opportunities.
• Assist in evaluating and supporting risk rating accuracy based on borrower financial condition, industry performance, and transaction structure.
• Conduct credit risk assessment by reviewing leverage, liquidity, repayment sources, guarantor support, and other relevant credit factors.
• Review and assess available third-party reports, market data, and other external information to support sound credit decisions.
• Support collateral analysis by reviewing collateral information and related documentation to assess adequacy and overall risk exposure.

Portfolio & Relationship Support

• Partner with Portfolio Managers and Relationship Managers to support existing client relationships and prospective commercial lending opportunities.
• Assist with commercial credit responsibilities tied to ongoing portfolio management and relationship support.
• Help identify opportunities for referrals to other business units to deepen client relationships and strengthen the Bank's commercial banking partnerships.
• Provide high-level communication support related to commercial loan requests by coordinating with customers and internal teams as needed.

Team Support & Process Improvement

• Provide day-to-day guidance to Commercial Credit Analysts, including assigning and tracking work and assisting with workload allocation.
• Participate in the training, coaching, and mentoring of Commercial Analyst Trainees and Commercial Credit Analysts.
• Promote strong analytical standards and best practices in loan analysis, underwriting, and credit risk assessment.
• Identify process issues and recommend practical solutions involving Loan Operations, Collateral Management, and Treasury Management teams.

Risk, Compliance & Department Support

• Ensure work is completed in accordance with Bank policies, credit standards, and applicable regulations.
• Maintain strong attention to detail, sound judgment, and effective time management in a fast-paced environment.
• Participate in regular department meetings and support short-term and long-term planning efforts.
• Complete additional assignments and projects as designated by management.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

Education

• Bachelor's degree required.

Experience

• Minimum of one year of commercial & industrial credit analysis experience required.
• Successful completion of a formal credit training program required.
• Ability to prepare and evaluate credit analyses, credit memos, and supporting documentation related to commercial lending decisions.
• Ability to perform financial statement analysis, cash flow analysis, and overall credit risk assessment for commercial borrowers.
• Working knowledge of underwriting, loan structuring, and borrower credit worthiness evaluation.
• Ability to assess and support risk rating accuracy based on borrower financial condition, repayment capacity, and transaction structure.
• Ability to support collateral analysis and review related documentation and third-party information.

Communication Skills

• Strong verbal communication skills with the ability to tailor messaging based on the audience and situation.
• Strong written communication skills, including the ability to prepare clear, concise, and professional emails, correspondence, and credit-related documentation.
• Ability to build effective working relationships with internal partners and maintain a constructive, solutions-focused approach.
• Sound professional judgment and the ability to balance customer needs with risk awareness and business priorities.
• Ability to communicate professionally with internal and external stakeholders in support of commercial loan requests and portfolio needs.

Technical Skills

• Proficiency with Microsoft 365 products and applications.
• Strong working knowledge of Microsoft Excel.
• Ability to learn new systems and applications and adapt to workflow changes resulting from system upgrades or process enhancements.
• Ability to effectively prepare or review documents, procedures, reports, and credit-related materials.

Travel

• Regular travel throughout the Bank's market is required.
• Occasional out-of-state travel may be required.

Hours

• Ability to work a typical schedule of Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
• Ability to work additional hours as needed based on business demands.
• Punctuality required to maintain First American Bank's customer service standards.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

Education

• Degree focus in Accounting, Business, Economics, or Finance preferred.

Experience

• Three or more years of commercial & industrial credit analysis experience highly preferred.
• Experience supporting commercial banking relationships and broader commercial lending activities preferred.
• Experience partnering with Portfolio Managers and Relationship Managers in a commercial credit environment preferred.
• Prior experience mentoring, coaching, or guiding junior analysts or trainees preferred.

Communication Skills

• Spanish language proficiency highly preferred based on client and market needs.

Technical Skills

• Prior experience using systems and tools that support commercial banking, commercial lending, and credit analysis functions preferred.