WHO WE ARE
HomeEquity Bank is a Schedule 1 Canadian chartered bank and the leading national provider of reverse mortgages, with a growing portfolio. As the only bank solely dedicated to serving homeowners 55 and up, we’re passionate about helping Canadian homeowners live retirement on their terms. We live that commitment every day, with a range of reverse mortgage solutions that include our flagship CHIP Reverse Mortgage™ product.
Our Values, Our Passion
At HomeEquity Bank, our values drive and inspire our actions with our customers, our partners and each other.
Customer-Focused. Passionate Advocates
Courage to Act. Do the Right Thing
One Team. One Vision
Think Long-Term. Ever-Evolving
Be Exceptional. Inspire Greatness
POSITION SUMMARY
The role is responsible for ensuring the Credit department underwrites each mortgage application assessing the collateral and the client’s credit worthiness, following Bank’s policies and guidelines for effective and efficient decisioning. Builds and maintains effective relationships with Brokers Sales and Operations Leadership in order to develop creative solutions that efficiently and effectively manage client expectations while ensuring adherence to all applicable risk and compliance guidelines.
The position plays an important role within the Bank because it requires a deep understanding of credit underwriting, broker business, appraisals management, mortgage terms, risk management, internal controls and regulatory compliance.
MAJOR ELEMENTS OF THE ROLE
- Coaching, mentoring and leading a high performing team consisting of a Team Lead and Underwriter Associates
- Stakeholder management, escalations, relationship building
- Policy and procedure management, ongoing adherence/review
- Control and quality testing/audits
- Manage and develop a relationship with broker to address their needs and create a strategy to deal with escalation and exception
- Manage relationships with our suppliers and service providers to strengthen our business
- Manager internal relationships with Sales and liaise with other internal departments to articulate their needs and adopt strategies to support their needs
- Preparing and presenting insightful quantitative and qualitative analysis to Senior Management
- Ensure all communications with internal and external partners are documented with clear notes/conditions/decisions
- Develop and present business cases to support Operations driven projects or initiatives
- Design, implement, and oversee all key aspects of performance metrics to evaluate performance and ensure adherence to vendor Service Level Agreements (SLA’s)
- Reporting
- Appraisals management – originations and appraisals
Specific elements of the role include but are not limited to:
Leadership:
- Coach, mentor, train and lead a team of Underwriter Associates and Team Lead
- Establish objectives with staff, conduct performance reviews and monitor relative to those objectives
- Manage the team to established Service Level Agreements
Business Performance:
- Ensure that all submitted credit applications are underwritten in an efficient and timely manner within the parameters of the Bank’s regulatory requirements and defined policies
- For the team of Underwriter Associates, ensure established document management process is adhered to by both Broker Channel and Internal Sales representatives to meet the expectations of our clients.
- Make prompt decisions on escalated Underwriting decisions requiring review and secondary approval as appropriate and permitted
- Make sure broker service level is acceptable and they are satisfied with the outcome of their referral business
- While applying the principles of OFSI, balance looking to adopt unique solutions on deal structure to help prospective clients while ensuring we independently adhere to Bank policies
- Be a critical contributor to the Bank’s operational efficiencies by identifying and proposing effective solutions to maximize process efficiency
- Play a lead role in reviewing quality metrics, performance, and overall controls
- Interpret data and provide insights to derive performance efficiencies and drive to change to policies or influence projects
- Develop and maintain comprehensive procedures
- Develop and implement solutions on a timely basis to address any identified control gaps or opportunities
- Act as subject matter expert on cross-functional projects as assigned, actively contributing to the digitization of the function and development of the risk framework
- Review audit reporting, identifying areas of opportunity to address with team and create and implement action plans
- Maintains professionalism in all dealings with internal and external parties to maintain the reputation of the Bank
Reporting:
- Provides regular and ad hoc reporting to Management with qualitative commentary and insights
- Measure processing and capacity efficiencies, looking for opportunities to improve quality and turnaround times
Appraisals:
- Ensure monthly appraisal process is executed
- Coordinate appraisals of properties as required per Bank’s policy
- Review and resolve exceptions
SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE REQUIRED
Qualifications
- Progressive experience at a Canadian financial institution in Credit/Mortgage Underwriting
- Experience leading high-performance teams
- Experience with reporting and data analytics
- Experience preparing and providing analysis and presentations for management
- Experience managing vendor relationships
- Experience leading high-performing teams
- Experience with policy management, audits and OSFI reviews
- Fully proficient with Microsoft Office suite (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint)
Attributes:
- Collaborative leadership style with the ability to take initiative
- Ability to work independently and know when to make decisions and when to seek input from others
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills; in both English and French (applicable to bilingual roles) to write application reviews and discuss decisions to management and internal and external sales partners
- Effectively manage multiple projects under time constraints while maintain daily business performance
- Ability to establish healthy working relations and partnerships
- Demonstrated planning abilities with excellent written and verbal communication skills
Working Conditions Unique to Job:
Hybrid office environment
WHY WORK AT HOMEEQUITY BANK?
Great Environment
HomeEquity Bank offers a hybrid working environment supported with a culture of flexibility – an approach that is unique to each person, and that enables both business and individual needs to be met in a mutually beneficial way.
We pride ourselves in recognizing and celebrating performance, community service, teamwork, and diversity among our employees.
A Dynamic Culture – With People at the Centre
We believe our people make all the difference; our tireless commitment to inclusivity, professional development, and employee experience has been recognized through awards including the Greater Toronto’s Top Employers 2024,Waterstone Canada's Most Admired Corporate Cultures 2022-2023, the Globe and Mail's Report on Business: Canada's Top Growing Companies 2022 (third year since 2019), Canadian's Mortgage Professional (CMP) Top Mortgage Employer 2023 for the third year in a row and Achievers Top 50 Most Engaged Workplaces 2023.
Growth and Opportunities
We provide challenging and rewarding careers in a wide variety of fields. We continuously develop and train our employees through professional growth opportunities and on-the-job training. We also encourage our employees to develop professionally and personally though a series of career developing programs including our Educational Assistance Program, designed to reimburse costs related to professional learning and development.
Celebrating Great Work and People
We believe in an environment that celebrates success, knowledge, leadership, and work that is inspired by our core values. For these reasons, we have created several programs that make it easy for our employees to say ‘great job’ to their colleagues and leaders.
From our Appreciate! Program to the High Five Award Program and President’s Award Program, we recognize professional achievement with a variety of rewards including points towards gift cards, merchandise, and travel experiences, as well as group RRSP/DPSP contributions and more.
Our Community Leadership Program recognizes employees who make a positive impact in their communities through volunteer work with a grant for their charity of choice. Additionally, we provide employees with one paid day off each year to volunteer at their favourite local charity.
The Perks
HomeEquity Bank offers a competitive total rewards package that includes:
- Extended health and dental benefits
- Employee & Family Assistance Program
- Employer-Matched Group Retirement Savings Plan
- Employee Share Investment Plan
- Well-being initiatives including: a wellness account; virtual self-care programs and extended mental health benefits
- Employee corporate discount for GoodLife Fitness
Stay in the Know
Find out what we’re up to online, and learn more about what makes HomeEquity Bank a great place to work:
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