Collateral Risk Associate

Position Summary :

The Collateral Risk Associate will have a major role in our real estate valuation and environmental due diligence processes used to support loan acquisition and origination decisions based on applicable criteria and risk appetite.

In this role, the primary responsibilities include coordinating, reviewing, and reporting real estate values and environmental risk to business verticals within the organization.

Other key responsibilities may include, but are not limited to, market research, appraisal review, and partnering with team members to assist in the development, implementation, and administration of valuation and environmental guidelines, policies, and procedures.

This role reports directly to the Collateral Risk Manager and will also work closely with credit administration team members, regional credit officers, underwriters, business advisors, commercial banking associates, and external vendors.

In addition, the Collateral Risk Associate will contribute to a wide range of other initiatives to support the growth of the department and Alerus Financial.

Essential Responsibilities :

• Review third-party appraisals to ensure proper methodology and market-supported assumptions are employed, and value conclusions are reasonable and credible given changes in the market and the property.
• Perform independent internal valuations.
• Perform desk review of property valuation products and justify in writing any value conclusions that differ from the valuation.
• Apply proper application of valuation methods and techniques in the review of real estate appraisals and prepares an independent written assessment of the appraisal, and escalate issues, noncompliance, suspicious misrepresentation, or fraud appropriately.
• Provide guidance to other staff members regarding property valuation strategies.
• Conduct quantitative and qualitative analyses for benchmarking, testing, and reporting.
• Play a significant role in identifying market trends and extracting insights across the portfolio to aid in strategic decision-making.
• Help drive operational improvements including automating manual processes and integrating market research into valuation process.
• Prepare, present, and report preliminary and final valuation results and insights to leadership.
• Other ad hoc projects and initiatives as needed.
• Efficiently manage workflow.
• Help execute valuation reviews and client consulting engagements through implementation of organizational and technical skills.
• Communication / coordinate with market participants, team member, and vendors.
• Resolve non-compliant issues through verbal and written communication with vendors or other involved parties.
• Meet all service levels pertaining to the property valuation strategies.
• Keep management apprised of any concerns regarding the performance of a vendor.
• Demonstrate behaviors which are aligned with the organization’s desired culture and value.
• Provide valuation expertise in the review of commercial, residential, and agricultural real estate appraisals, including those with high-risk profiles, requests for Reconsiderations of Value (ROV) or a second appraisal, as well as other valuation issues that may be requested to be reviewed.
• Performs desk reviews of real estate appraisals for compliance with the appropriate standards and guidelines for the purpose of providing the involved internal parties with information regarding the quality of the valuation of the collateral so they may determine whether the collateral appropriately supports the loan amount requested.
• Performs any necessary follow-up to reviews performed and participates in escalation discussions with senior management and / or the vendor who performed the assignment.
• Monitor the valuation and environmental pipeline and collateral risk email box for requests and, along with other team members, responds accordingly.
• Perform quarterly reviews of randomly selected valuation vendors to confirm opinion of value given was supported and monitor for potential appraiser bias in the valuation.
• Maintain review productivity in line with established benchmarks and prioritizes pipeline of pending and active reviews.
• Works with the Collateral Risk Manager for approval and overall monitoring of vendors.
• Fully understand the appraisal independence practices and works with compliance and the business vertical when there are identified concerns.
• Conduct research and analysis on industry guidelines and utilizes internal and external tools and resources as needed.
• Maintain thorough and up-to-date knowledge of trends and predictions of real estate markets across the entire Requirements :

Qualifications : Minimum of five years of real estate experience (including a minimum of three years in valuation / appraisal / acquisitions).

Bachelor’s degree in finance, accounting, or similar business / related fields preferred or equivalent work experience.Current state appraisal license or certification preferred.

Prior field experience performing real estate appraisals preferred.Functional upstanding of USPAP regulations.Strong knowledge of real estate property types and valuation methodology / approaches.

Ability to evaluate and determine property valuations under a variety of scenarios.Sound risk assessment and analytical skills (both quantitative and qualitative).

Personal Characteristics :

Strong organizational, time management and priority setting skills.Ability to pro-actively work with a range of collaborators to achieve objectives and deadlines in a fast-paced environment.

Ability to display objectivity, independent judgment, confidentiality, and ethical conduct, and consistently make appropriate decisions with minimal guidance and oversight.

Ability to compile, monitor, examine, and audit various financial, performance, and / or data reports for accuracy and conformance to performance benchmarks.

Excellent verbal and written communications skills to present to and work with senior management and external clients.Effective customer service and interpersonal skills.

Alerus Financial is an Equal Opportunity Employer of women, minorities, protected veterans and individuals with disabilities.