Senior Credit Risk Underwriter – Specialist Mortgages & Bridging Finance
Location: London Working Arrangement: Hybrid – minimum 50% of the month in the office
Salary: £80,000 - £90,000 + bonus and benefits
Department: Credit Risk Function: 2nd Line Credit Risk
The Opportunity
We are working with a well-established specialist bank seeking an experienced Senior Credit Risk Underwriter to join its 2nd Line Credit Risk function. This is a senior opportunity for an experienced credit professional with a strong background in specialist lending, particularly across Specialist Mortgages, Bridging Finance, Buy-to-Let and HMO.
The successful candidate will operate as a sanctioned within the 2nd Line of Defence Credit Risk function, taking responsibility for sanctioning credit proposals within their own delegated lending authority and providing independent credit risk oversight and challenge to the business.
The role will provide exposure to significant and complex lending transactions, with typical facilities ranging from £1m to £35m.
Key Responsibilities
- Sanction credit proposals within personal delegated lending authority, in line with the Bank’s Credit Risk Framework and policies.
- Analyse new and existing lending propositions across Real Estate Bridging and Investment.
- Act as a credit risk sounding board to the Bridging and Specialist Mortgages business.
- Provide independent challenge and balanced credit decisions across complex lending proposals.
- Prepare comprehensive credit risk assessments and recommendations for presentation to Transactional Credit Committee where required.
- Work closely with 1st Line Credit teams and lending stakeholders to ensure appropriate risk assessment and decision-making.
- Support the development of a strong credit risk culture across the business.
- Contribute to the ongoing development and review of credit risk policies, frameworks and sanctioning processes.
- Support portfolio-level credit risk monitoring, analysis and reporting.
- Assist with portfolio reviews and detailed investigations where required.
- Support lending decision assurance activity and provide appropriate oversight of lending decisions.
- Maintain a strong understanding of the Bank’s risk appetite and ensure lending decisions are made within agreed parameters. Experience Required
The successful candidate will ideally have:
- Recent and substantial experience within Credit Risk Underwriting and Sanctioning.
- Proven experience operating within a 2nd Line of Defence Credit Risk environment.
- Experience operating with personal delegated lending authority.
- Strong experience across Specialist Mortgages, including Buy-to-Let and HMO.
- Strong Real Estate Bridging Finance experience.
- Experience assessing complex property-backed lending propositions.
- A strong understanding of financial, economic and property markets.
- Good knowledge of credit risk grading systems and processes.
- Experience making independent lending decisions and providing balanced recommendations. Confidence challenging first-line credit recommendations where appropriate.
- Experience presenting credit assessments and recommendations to senior stakeholders and/or Credit Committee.
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
- Excellent attention to detail and the ability to distil complex information into clear, concise recommendations.
- Strong communication and influencing skills.
- The ability to exercise sound and independent judgement.
The Ideal Candidate This role would suit an experienced Senior Credit Underwriter, Credit Risk Underwriter, Credit Manager or similar professional who has moved beyond purely first-line underwriting and has genuine experience within a 2nd Line Credit Risk and sanctioning environment.
You will need to be comfortable making independent credit decisions, operating within delegated authority and providing appropriate challenge to lending teams. Experience within specialist banking, property finance or specialist mortgage lending would be particularly relevant.
Benefits In addition to the salary and bonus opportunity, the role offers a comprehensive benefits package including:
- Private healthcare
- Private dental care
- Pension contribution
- Hybrid working
- Further employee benefits
Working Arrangement The role is based in London with a hybrid working arrangement, requiring a minimum of 50% of the month to be spent working from the office.
Interested? If you are an experienced Credit Risk Underwriter with genuine 2nd Line sanctioning and delegated authority experience across Specialist Mortgages, Bridging, BTL or HMO, I’d be very interested in having a confidential conversation with you.
Please get in touch for further information and a full discussion around the opportunity.
Senior Credit Risk Underwriter (2nd line) employer: Stride Recruitment
Join a well-established specialist bank in London as a Senior Credit Risk Underwriter, where you will thrive in a dynamic hybrid work environment that promotes a strong credit risk culture and offers significant exposure to complex lending transactions. With a competitive salary, comprehensive benefits including private healthcare and pension contributions, and ample opportunities for professional growth, this role is perfect for those looking to make impactful decisions in the world of specialist mortgages and bridging finance.
