Commercial Underwriter

Reports to: Team Lead, New Loan Underwriting

FLSA: Exempt

Compensation
: $80,000 - $160,000 annually

Endeavor Bank serves business clients across Southern California. This role supports the Bank’s mission to deliver tailored lending solutions with a strong focus on credit quality, risk management, and a consultative approach. The Underwriter is expected to demonstrate sound judgment, technical competency, and a commitment to accuracy, regulatory compliance, and service in a deadline-driven environment.

Reporting to the Team Lead of the New Loan Underwriting Group, this Commercial Loan Underwriter position focuses primarily on underwriting new loan requests, while also managing a portfolio of complex, high-balance relationships for renewal, modification, and ongoing credit monitoring.

This role involves underwriting a wide range of credit products, including Commercial & Industrial (C&I) loans such as lines of credit, equipment loans, working capital loans, business acquisitions, partner buyouts, and SBA 7(a). It also includes Commercial Real Estate (CRE) loans such as owner-occupied and investment properties, construction loans, and SBA 504 structures. A strong understanding of loan structures, repayment sources, collateral, and regulatory guidelines is required.

The Underwriter prepares detailed and accurate spreads of borrower and guarantor financial statements, tax returns, and related financial data in accordance with Bank standards. This includes validating financial integrity, consolidating affiliated entities when appropriate, analyzing guarantor financials, and supporting both historical performance evaluation and forward-looking projections.

Using financial spreads and supporting information, the Underwriter performs comprehensive credit and risk analyses, including liquidity, leverage, profitability, and debt service coverage. Analyses may include global cash flow, business models, industry trends, customer concentrations, ownership structures, succession planning, and legal or reputational risks. All analyses must be objective, well-documented, and aligned with the Bank’s credit policy and risk profile.

For new loan requests, the Underwriter prepares the Loan Approval Memorandum (LAM), synthesizing financial analysis, business background, industry and market research, collateral assessment, loan structure, covenants, and identified risks and mitigants. The Underwriter collaborates with relationship managers and borrowers to ensure complete documentation and due diligence. By signing the LAM, the Underwriter affirms endorsement of the proposed credit.

Upon assignment, the Underwriter is responsible for ensuring a complete underwriting package is received timely and approval timelines are met. Bank expectations include:

• Engagement with relationship manager and/or borrower within 2 days of assignment
• New C&I loans approved within 15 days of a complete package
• New CRE or real estate-secured loans approved within 30 days

The Underwriter proactively manages maturing loans and completes renewal underwriting in advance of maturity. This includes requesting updated financials, performing credit analysis, confirming covenant compliance, and assessing whether modifications are warranted. Loans at risk of maturing without approval must be escalated at least 15 days in advance. Routine reliance on short-term extensions is discouraged.

The Underwriter supports ongoing portfolio oversight, including financial reporting review, covenant testing, annual reviews, risk rating adjustments, and preparation of quarterly problem loan reports. The role requires monitoring financial trends, borrower responsiveness, and credit risk throughout the life of each loan.

For borrowing base or collateral-dependent facilities, the Underwriter enforces borrowing base compliance and collateral eligibility, including advance rate validation, monitoring dilution trends, reviewing borrowing base certificates, and addressing over-advances or discrepancies.

The Underwriter reviews collateral for…