I have long imagined myself as a bank worker: important, in a tie and shirt. I thought it was prestigious. I assumed that I would be helping people in some way. If a person wants to buy an expensive phone or TV, he will come to me, and I will give him money for his dream. But it turned out that everything is not quite so.

A loan officer is the lowest level in a bank. But, like many other large corporations, banks are based on such employees. It is credit specialists, in general, who feed the entire bank. The bank aims to extract maximum profit by any means. These methods turn out to be quite ruinous for citizens and quite traumatic for the psyche of the employees of the organization.

Almost everyone is hired for the position of a loan officer, you only need to pass one interview. After the interview, you are sent to a five-day training. From ten in the morning until six in the evening, you are taught technical things for a whole week: how to work with a computer program, what documents to ask clients for, and so on. They also talk about more interesting things - about sales technologies, for example. How to sell a person the very idea that he really needs a loan.

Mostly young guys who have just graduated from high school, or even students go to this job. For them, this is an opportunity to break through to the top, and they behave accordingly - arrogantly and unscrupulously, as the system requires of them.

How to sell a loan idea

But the real learning begins, of course, in the process of work. We work at the outlets of our partners, in such stores as Eldorado, Euroset, M-Video, White Wind, fur coat stores, car dealerships, and so on. I am an employee of a household appliance store, I have to approach customers in the hall and ask: “Do you want to buy on credit?” I have to identify the needs of the client and literally persuade him to buy something on credit. If he just came to ask the price, I can tell him: “What will you ask the price? Take a loan today, pay for the first time only in a month, and right now you will go home with a TV.”

Representatives of several banks work at one point at once, there are those who are more impudent, they can literally steal a client from you. You have already processed the buyer, he is ready to take shape, and then your competitor comes up and says: “But we have lower interest rates, let's go to us.” There were cases when representatives of banks in front of buyers fought among themselves. By the way, girls fight more often.

About the strange percentage

Every loan you take out is your salary. My salary is 17 thousand rubles, I get a percentage of each loan. Depending on what interest rate I set for the client, and on what additional services I offer him: insurance, transfer to a non-state pension fund, and so on.

I naively thought that a person just comes to you and asks for a loan. You enter his application into the computer, and the bank gives him a loan on standard terms. If the client wants, he can ask for additional services. But it's not like that.

I can offer a person a loan at 20% per annum, 40%, 50% and 75%. I have no criteria for whom to offer a high percentage, to whom a low one. Only depending on who and what I can breed. Otherwise, all terms of loans are the same.

And then a person comes to the store, just looks around, and the loan officer already sees him and evaluates him at 20, 30 or 70%.

The names of all our loan products are also interesting. For example, "1% per month", for this loan a person pays 24% per year. It does not lend itself to the rules of mathematics - I thought.

On a loan called “2% per month”, a person pays 40% per annum.

But clients themselves very rarely consider something. The lender tells them: “The cost of the loan is only 1% per month,” and they leave satisfied. They regularly pay and do not notice how much extra money they give to the bank.

About suckers

If a person is not well-groomed, poorly dressed, does not cut either in technology or in loans, asks stupid questions - he can be given a higher percentage. This is a typical scam. If a person is looking for something cheaper, it is easier to convince him to buy something more expensive, but on credit, playing on vanity: “You will pay 2 thousand rubles a month, but you will have a very large plasma!” Here the sellers are connected, you work in conjunction - he praises the goods, you praise the credit.

With those who are confident in themselves, they know what they need, they confidently say: “This and this is for me,” - you need to be careful with such people.

The vast majority of suckers, out of a hundred people that you have issued, one or two will carefully read the loan agreement.

I work not so long ago, and I had only one unpleasant incident with clients - a husband and wife. We discussed everything with them, signed everything, they were already going to the checkout to pick up the goods, but for some reason my wife decided to multiply the amount of their monthly payment by 24 months (they took a loan for two years). She counted and how she starts screaming at the whole store! (They really had a rather serious overpayment.) The cashiers hid, the store director himself came to figure out what was going on. I sat all sweaty, red: this was one of my first clients, and I did not know how to calm this woman down.

The husband picked his finger in his palm and only muttered to his wife: “Come on, not so much, what's the difference, what an overpayment, but they left with the goods!” But I came across adequate colleagues from a competitor bank. They began to tell her: “Don't worry, if you pay off the loan earlier, the overpayment will be less. Go to the bank, they will recalculate everything for you. In general, they began to hang noodles on their ears. And it worked. I then tracked - they consistently paid.

About tricks

For example, we do not enclose a list of monthly payments in a contract for a person, which shows how much he will eventually pay. We focus on the monthly payment, which is usually quite small, even if the loan is very expensive. Saying "every month you will pay 2 thousand rubles" is always better than "in general, the phone will cost you 25 thousand rubles."

Naturally, if a person buys some very expensive TV, no one will give him 75%: the amount is decent, anyone will feel something is wrong.

Some creditors first calculate the payment amount for the client at one rate, and then impudently put a higher interest rate when applying for a loan in the hope that the person will not read the contract - often such a frank deception rolls.

We also make money from insurance. There are three types of them: life insurance (if you die or become disabled, the bank will pay the loan for you), job loss insurance (you will not pay the loan if you lose your job) and product insurance (you will not pay if the goods stop working ). All these insurances have very tricky conditions, for example, job loss insurance is only valid if you are made redundant or the company declares bankruptcy. That you did not damage the goods yourself, you still have to prove, and so on.

All types of insurance, of course, are voluntary, but we include them in the contract without asking. And if the client wonders why we have taken out insurance for him, we say that the bank has already approved the loan with insurance included, and if he wants to refuse, then he will have to send a request to the bank again and the loan may not be approved for him. This, of course, is a lie. But any insurance I take doubles my bonus, so I have to lie.

About mutual responsibility

Not only your salary depends on the indicators that you give out for the month. The point of sale must conditionally make 3 million rubles in a month. If we don’t earn that much, then we won’t get additional bonuses, and our boss won’t receive a bonus.

Of course, we understand that we are not doing a very good job. We constantly joke among ourselves that all loan officers will go to hell (although there we will issue loans for all the devils). Yes, we are ripping people off. But we all comfort ourselves with the fact that people themselves are to blame for their stupidity.

And also because we have to do it. We are given tasks that we must cope with, no matter how. If you have to cheat, cheat. Why do we comply with such requirements? This is our job, we don't have another yet.

And the people who work for us are different. There is, for example, a Muslim girl from a very religious family. She says that she in life and at work are two different people. I don’t know what she is like in life, but among loan officers she is the most bitchy among us.

About conscience

I have heard stories of people getting into debt and even committing suicide, but this has never happened to my clients. At least none of the clients suddenly disappeared. I know this because if they don't pay their loan, I have to call them and find out what's wrong.

I understand that someday this can happen, I'm a little afraid of talking about hell. I go to a Protestant church and my pastor keeps telling me it's time to change jobs.

My conscience stopped me only once. I have already issued a loan at the highest interest rate with two insurances, the client did not notice anything and agreed to everything. But at the last moment, I stopped and began to score everything again - removed additional services, and said to the client: “Oh, the bank unexpectedly offered you better conditions, you will overpay less.” The fact is that the client was a pretty girl and I didn’t want to ruin her too much.

I also arrange normal conditions for grumpy clients, I’m just afraid of them, I don’t want them to suddenly start yelling at me.

I also remember a case for which I am still ashamed, I even slept badly at night. The guy came for the iPhone 4 for his girlfriend. I issued him a loan at 45% per annum with two insurances, for a year he will pay the bank 24 thousand rubles, despite the fact that the price of the phone is 15 thousand. Nevertheless, the client left satisfied, hearing only the amount of the monthly payment of 2.5 thousand rubles. When he left, I looked at the contract again and saw that I sold all this to him on his own birthday.

About clients

The income of our clients usually does not exceed 25-30 thousand rubles, the bank does not like people with high salaries, they are often denied credit: why do they take money from the bank for a TV set with a salary of 80 thousand rubles?

Once a priest from the church took a loan from my colleague - for TV. She asks him about the salary, he says that he does not have it.

And what do you live on?

For donations.

How much per month?

Well, 60 thousand comes out.

They broke it up very well. The highest percentage.

By the way, you have to deceive not only customers, but also your bank. For example, sometimes we deliberately inflate the salary of a person who applies for a loan so that the bank will definitely approve it.

Although if my client suddenly stops paying on the loan, this will also affect my salary. And if the percentage of non-payers is high enough, then I will simply be fired from work.

We have instructions on who should not be given a loan, this is called “low social status” - people in a state of alcohol or drug intoxication, or if a person came with someone who stands above him and says “write this here, and this here” . Then we put a certain check mark in the program, this person will automatically receive a refusal, and he will never be able to take a loan from our bank again.

But we ourselves can be deceived, we do not ask for any supporting documents, only a passport. Therefore, if a person says that he earns 50 thousand rubles, we can only believe.

Fraudsters go under the code name "deer". I heard that lenders themselves are involved in fraudulent schemes, they issue loans on fake passports. But he never did it himself. But I heard about a man who earned 700 thousand by selling personal information of his clients: address, phone number, when and how much he borrowed.

Despite the fact that we sell loans right and left at the most extortionate rates, the percentage of non-payment is very small, people are mostly disciplined. They pay properly.

Illustrations: Masha Shishova

The growth of the financial market and the popularity of credit products among the population causes new requests for specialists in the banking sector. The biggest demand in banking institutions is for loan officers or specialists in lending to individuals.

The position of a loan officer is the most numerous of the banking professions, because employees work not only in branches and branches of banks, but also in retail outlets, in retail sales offices of banking products, in mortgage and specialized credit centers. The success of the bank and the profitability of the loan portfolio depend on the qualifications and competence of specialists.

Despite the importance of work, even students without work experience can apply for a vacancy. Such promiscuity of banks is connected with a shortage of personnel and a regular expansion of the network of points of sale. For novice employees, this position is an excellent start to a career in the bank.

Priority for the vacancy is given to candidates with higher economic education. After the approval of the application, you will have to undergo a two-week internship at the bank to study the specifics of the work of a loan officer. A more experienced employee will introduce a beginner to special programs, scoring systems, and teach the basics of office work and reporting.

Skills, knowledge, personal qualities and responsibilities

Useful knowledge of basic computer office programs, Internet skills, the ability to handle e-mail and other means of instant communication. During the internship, you will need to carefully study the current offers of the bank and loan products. According to their conditions and features, a test or an exam is arranged for passing a probationary period.

There is a list of individual character traits and personal traits that are necessary for the effective and successful work of a loan officer. These include:

• Good memory;
• Ability to express thoughts correctly;
• Logic and rationality of thinking;
• The presence of common sense;
• Communication and feedback skills;

The lowest position in the bank's credit department will help you acquire skills in working with potential borrowers, understand the specifics of the bank's internal policy, operating standards and customer service technologies used.

The main duties of a loan officer are to assess possible risks and analyze potential clients. A loan officer should not just sell products, he is obliged to offer the best option for the client, based on his solvency and collateral. The profession requires the ability to make quick decisions, analyze the situation and calculate options for the development of events when building long-term relationships with clients.

Career opportunities

You can stay in this position for several years, however, successful employees quickly move up the career ladder. Six months later, there may be opportunities to become a manager or senior loan officer and take on the leadership of ordinary specialists or trainees. This requires a penchant for managerial work and leadership, you will have to perfectly study the nuances of lending to individuals, be able to organize the work of subordinates, find a common language with customers and team members, and take initiative.

The next step in a career for an intelligent employee in retail lending will be an appointment to the department of lending to legal entities and corporate clients. The career path for a private sector expert is limited to horizontal advancement, such as from consumer loans to the mortgage sector. In the corporate lending department, you can grow to an expert in evaluating and analyzing business project financing.

The pinnacle of growth for a loan officer is the position of the head of the lending department for certain categories of clients, or the head of the lending sector in a separate division or regional representative office of the bank. There is another development option - to go to a company that performs the functions of a credit broker, or to create your own company.

If the goal is initially to work in the field of credit brokerage, it is better to work in several banks first, acquire acquaintances and connections in a professional environment in order to simplify further market monitoring and building partnership agreements.

Along with other banking professions, the position of a specialist in acts as a separate link, since the bank is primarily a financial and credit enterprise. The skillful work of these people provides the bank with solvency, an increase in the loan portfolio, while at the same time improving the quality of service and reducing the level of debt.

Modern practice allows loan officers to also be called loan officers and experts. Based on the name of the profession itself, you can get certain data. A loan officer is a bank employee

Knowledgeable and skillfully promoting the policy of the bank in the field of providing funds as a loan;

Freely orientated in loan offers, looking for the most suitable products for borrowers;

Possessing a logical mindset and able to assess the solvency of a potential client;

Making firm decisions and bearing full responsibility for them.

In other words, a loan officer must masterfully understand all aspects of lending, from the receipt of an application to the moment the loan is repaid.

The loan officer must:

Inform potential customers about the current options for obtaining a loan and choose the most profitable of them (these skills should be mandatory, even if the bank has an existing consultant);

Calculate loan amounts and monthly installments to pay off debt;

Accept loan applications;

Monitor the client's availability of all necessary documents;

Assess the risks of non-repayment of loans and assign the appropriate class/rating to the client;

Submit documents to the Security Council and the banking economic service;

Submit an application for consideration by the credit committee;

Draw up documentation (various contracts), payment schedules, statements of various kinds (for example, to write off an amount from a salary or a plastic card to pay off a debt);

Sign contracts;

Accompany the contract, control the timely payment of the debt. In especially large companies, this is entrusted to a special department.

In addition, the loan officer in his work should be guided by some intuition and the skills of a social psychologist in order to determine the purity of the borrower's intentions during only one preliminary conversation. To obtain the appropriate skills, employees of credit departments periodically take special psychological courses.

It is interesting: read our other articles -, and.

Personal qualities of a credit specialist

By the nature of the service, the loan officer is forced to constantly communicate with clients. This obliges him to possess a number of such important personal qualities as communication skills, a desire to work with people, stress resistance, tact, responsibility and adherence to the principles of the bank.

The task of each loan officer is not just to issue a loan, but to enter into a strong relationship with a reliable client, satisfying his needs, while providing the bank with a return of funds and income. In order to more competently understand their environment and quickly provide assistance to borrowers, specialists are often divided by type of lending. So, some specialize in mortgage programs and similar products, others specialize in consumer loans, etc. A narrow profile allows the specialist to delve deeper into the intricacies of the chosen product and apply knowledge in practice.

At present, the services of credit specialists are in high demand, and it is not without reason that banks place high demands on the quality of work and diligence of their employees. For the borrower, the specialist is a kind of face of the entire bank. For the bank itself, it is one of the main connecting links of the entire mechanism. And most importantly, this link should be strong. Otherwise, the stability of the bank will be violated, which will not lead to anything good.

We also want to draw your attention to completely new professions in the banking sector - and.

Lending is one of the most popular services provided by banks. Financial institutions offer similar services to the population to meet various needs: from household appliances to housing. Today it is impossible to imagine our life without the possibility of lending. After all, it is it that allows you to carry out your plan even in the absence of money, whether it is opening your own business or buying a car.

What is lending

With the help of loans, it became much easier to organize and distribute funds. Lending is provided by commercial banks and financial institutions. There are certain conditions for each type of debt obligation, which include the amount of the minimum down payment, the loan repayment percentage, as well as the individual characteristics that the borrower must have. For each issued amount of money, the bank sets certain requirements for the client, which he must comply with.

The loan is issued not only to legal entities and individuals, but another commercial bank can also act as a borrower.

Requirements for the qualities of a loan officer

The success and productivity of the bank directly depends on the qualifications of its employees. Since the main income of the bank is considered to be the increase in resources, the staff needs to make every effort to ensure that the operation is profitable.

One of the most important officials of the bank is a specialist in the credit department. His duties are to provide complete information to the client about the loan. He also prepares and submits to the bank commission all the documents necessary for registration.

A loan officer, whose duties are to directly advise the client and conclude an agreement with him, must possess not only a number of professional skills, but also many human qualities, such as:

1. Honesty.
2. A desire to work.
3. The ability to think logically.
4. The ability to intuitively identify a potential client.
5. Responsibility.
6. Stress tolerance.
7. Ability to find a common language with each client.
8. Sociability.
9. Competence.

Functions

A loan officer, whose duties are fundamentally different from the functions of managers and inspectors, does not search for clients, but concludes an agreement and accompanies the loan until it is closed with existing clients. For greater profitability of the bank, the search for potential customers among legal entities and individuals is carried out by a special department.

The responsibilities of a loan officer at a bank include:

• Informing potential customers about tariffs.
• Providing full information about the conditions for obtaining a loan.
• Assistance in choosing a loan.
• Calculation of key loan indicators, such as terms, interest, minimum installment and payment schedule.
• Acceptance of applications for extradition.
• Checking the package of documents provided by the borrower.
• Implementation of credit risk assessment.
• Preparation of necessary papers and documents.
• Control of the process of disbursement of funds.
• Support of the transaction until the full repayment of the loan.

The loan officer, whose responsibilities include all of the above, must also have a sufficient level of self-control, which may be necessary in unforeseen situations.

Training of specialists

In this banking industry, people who have graduated from the Faculty of Finance or Economics have the opportunity to work. Many banking institutions hire employees for this position only with a diploma of higher education.

Job responsibilities of a loan officer involve constant communication between the bank employee and the borrower.

Training and retraining of professionals in this area is carried out directly by the financial institution itself. Many banks divide loan officers into subgroups for better work. That is, each employee is assigned a separate category of goods in which he specializes. Some work exclusively with consumer loans for goods and services, while others deal only with car loans. Specialists in the issuance and maintenance of mortgages should also be singled out separately.

The division of specialists by type of lending is carried out in order to improve the quality of their work. After all, each of them must have not only general concepts relating to this area, but also a thorough knowledge of the regulatory and legal aspects.

Work specifics

A loan officer, whose responsibilities also include conducting a transaction, if necessary, must collect and prepare all the necessary documents for issuing any type of loan. The main such document is a loan agreement, which is filled in by the borrower and a banking institution.

The document stipulates such points as:

1. Borrower's agreement to return funds.
2. Amount made available.
3. Penalties provided for in violation of the rules of the contract.

The decision to issue a loan is made directly by the bank commission, the specialist only submits all the necessary documents. After approval, the expert accepts the transaction for support until the loan is fully repaid.

Resume for applying for a job

The work of a specialist in this industry is worthy of respect. After all, constant contact with people, communication with them require not only professional skills from an expert. This profession is considered very prestigious. It provides an opportunity for personal and career growth. Let's list the main skills and responsibilities of a loan officer for a resume.

In order to apply for the position of a loan officer, the resume must include the following information:

1. Personal Information.
2. Previous employment.
3. The level of education.
4. Types of loans with which the specialist is familiar.
5. Work experience.
6. Job benefits.
7. Level of knowledge of foreign languages.
8. Professional skills.
9. Personal qualities that can improve the process of work.

The work of the bank directly depends on the professional qualities and skills of its staff. Loan specialists in this chain occupy not the last place and are able to influence the success of the bank as a whole.

Job advertisements are now full of vacancies for "loan officer". What will such work consist of, and what knowledge and skills should the applicant have? The answer to this question is interesting not only to applicants.

The work of a loan officer

As soon as these employees are not named: credit consultants, inspectors, managers, experts. But the essence is still the same - an employee of a financial institution promoting a line of bank credit products to the masses.

Since any bank earns its main income precisely through lending, specialists of this level are always in demand. So to speak, these are the main breadwinners of the bank. After all, it is they who ensure the receipt of the same profit, which subsequently goes to pay the wages of all staff.

But any loan should not just be given to the first person who wants it. It is important to do this as efficiently as possible so that in the future this potential income does not yet “fall out” into overdue debts and does not disrupt the stable operation of the bank. That is why high demands are placed on credit specialists in any serious bank.

An exception is MFIs, where such employees can be accepted without work experience and more or less decent education. Such organizations hire consultants who represent their credit organization in shops, shopping centers, etc., and teach them the basics of the profession on their own.

Responsibilities of a loan officer

Initially, the loan officer of the bank was assigned the role of consultant. He should be able to inform the potential borrower in the most detailed way about the loan programs available in the bank and advise the option that will satisfy all the requirements of the client. In large banking institutions, all loan officers are divided into groups, and each is engaged in a separate area. One, for example, works exclusively with car loans, the second - with consumer loans, the third - with mortgages, etc. This gradation allows managers to study all the subtleties of "their" direction and become as competent as possible in it.

During the consultation process, the expert should:

• calculate the loan amount that the client can receive (the calculation is based on the solvency of the latter);
• calculate the amount of monthly payments based on the proposed lending conditions;
• draw up a preliminary repayment schedule and familiarize the potential borrower with it;
• calculate the amount of the insurance premium if the client participates in the insurance program.

When all the main points are announced, and the potential borrower decides on lending in a positive way, the loan officer draws up an application and accepts a package of documents. At this stage, the responsibilities of the specialist include:

• acceptance of the application itself, and, if necessary, assistance in filling it out;
• reconciliation of the photo in the passport with the identity of the applicant;
• verification of all submitted documents for correctness of registration.

In addition, the credit manager evaluates the appearance and accessories of the client and accompanying persons (if any). This approach in most cases reduces the risks of the bank regarding the repayment of the loan. The financial structure does not need unnecessary problems, so they assign rating marks to customers based on a visual assessment. Well, you must admit that it is dangerous to give a loan if a certain friend stands “over the soul” of the borrower and tells you how to write and how much to take.

After accepting the application, the loan officer submits all the documentation for consideration to the bank's security service, and in exceptional cases (for a mortgage, for example) to lawyers. At the same time, he is preparing his opinion on the planned transaction. With a positive decision of all services, the manager submits the project for consideration (or credit commission) of the bank.

• preparation of all necessary documentation for the transaction;
• ensuring the process of signing the loan agreement;
• support of the transaction up to the moment of repayment of all credit obligations of the borrower to the bank.

Support here means control over the timeliness of payment of the loan and related payments (commissions, fees, insurance premiums, etc.). In the event of the first case of overdue payment, the loan officer is obliged to inform the borrower about the existence of a delay and take the necessary measures to repay it as soon as possible.

Qualities and skills of experts

Any serious institution wants to see a specialist with experience in the field of finance, but in some cases it is possible to fill a vacancy without experience, but with a higher education in the financial field. In addition, applicants are subject to the following requirements:

• literacy;
• tact;
• the ability to think logically and evaluate a potential client;
• fast learner;
• emotional stability in non-standard situations;
• sociability;
• neat appearance.

A candidate for the position of a loan officer should also be a bit of a psychologist. After all, almost any client needs to be able to persuade to take out loans, and in case of delay - to convince them to repay it and not to miss planned payments anymore.

Already working in the bank in the desired position, you need to thoroughly study the bank's policy in the field of lending and be well versed in the loan products promoted by this financial institution. Otherwise, you can not pass the probationary period and say goodbye to the position.

Cons of the profession

One of the shortcomings is the bonus system of remuneration, which is now practiced in the banking sector. Loan inspectors are paid a small salary, and the bulk of their earnings are incentives for good performance. So you have to sweat a lot to earn a decent amount.

Specialists working in large banks consider the obligation to support credit projects to be the main drawback of their position. It's good when everything goes smoothly. What if customers suddenly stop paying? In addition to the main responsibilities for attracting and lending, one has to spend titanic efforts to repay overdue debts. These are constant calls, negotiations, persuasion ...

But you will lose the very time that could be spent for the benefit of your wallet, attracting regular customers. Moreover, in most cases, the delay negatively affects the results of operations and affects the amount of the accrued bonus.

The loan officer does not always work with the incoming flow of citizens. In most cases, he can sit on the phone all day or run through presentations in order to attract at least one client for lending. Those who dream of working in the office are unlikely to like it. And if you got a job as a manager in an MFI, then you can even work not within the walls of a credit institution, but at a remote point. Large shopping centers are simply crammed with such specialists from different structures. Can you imagine what kind of competition it is? It is almost impossible to earn bonuses here, so you will have to be content with a meager salary, which will be the only component of your earnings.

But the main disadvantage is sales plans. The amount of bonuses and bonuses depends on their fulfillment. Moreover, the plan can be set not only by the number of loans issued, but also by the amount of funds issued and the percentage of borrowers involved in insurance programs. Well, if you work in a big city and are provided with a constant flow of customers. In small towns, however, there always comes the very moment when the majority of the population is indebted and there is simply no one to offer their products.

That's the job of a loan officer. Let's just say it's not sugar. But with some effort, you can make good money on all kinds of bonuses and incentive payments. That's just to achieve decent performance is not always possible. And for successful work and good earnings, we have to drive our already far from rich population into even greater debts and push it to. What to do, it will have to be accepted as it is.