Director, Portfolio Management, Commercial Finance Group (CFG)

Join a Challenger

Being a traditional bank just isn’t our thing. We are big believers in innovating the banking experience because we believe Canadians deserve better options, and we challenge ourselves and our teams to creatively transform what’s possible in banking.

Our team is made up of inquisitive and agile minds that find smarter ways of doing things. If you’re not afraid of taking on big challenges and redefining the future, you belong with us.

You’ll get to work with people who will encourage you to reach new heights. We like to keep things fun, ask questions and learn together.

We are a big (and growing!) family. Overall we serve more than 670,000 people across Canada through Equitable Bank, Canada's Challenger Bank™, and have been around for more than 50 years.

Equitable Bank's wholly-owned subsidiary, Concentra Bank, supports credit unions across Canada that serve more than six million members.

Together we have over $125 billion in combined assets under management and administration, with a clear mandate to drive change in Canadian banking to enrich people's lives.

Our customers have named our EQ Bank digital platform ( eqbank.ca ) one of the top banks in Canada on the Forbes World's Best Banks list since 2021.

The Work

The Director, Portfolio Management is responsible for all portfolio management aspects of the Commercial division’s Commercial Finance Group ( CFG ), encompassing conventional direct and partner business as well as the CMHC-insured construction business.

Reporting to the Sr. Director, Portfolio Management, the incumbent will lead a team of credit professionals in the management and prudent oversight of a : $6B portfolio of real estate secured facilities spanning commercial, multi-family and construction.

Key responsibilities include establishing and overseeing procedures to ensure that credit risk is thoroughly assessed and within the Bank’s risk appetite.

The Director will work collaboratively with the Sr. Director, Portfolio Management, Vice President, Commercial Lending, Credit Risk, and their management team to ensure the portfolio is being proactively managed in accordance with Company policies, procedures and priorities.

The Director will champion the Bank’s goal of delivering a superior customer experience by ensuring that the team thoroughly understands and responds to the needs of our clients in a timely manner.

The Director will also assist and encourage the team to develop and maintain strong relationships with their assigned clients.

The core parts of your role would be to :

• Provide support, guidance and ongoing training to department managers and staff, identifying their specific needs and devising plans to ensure all staff are adequately trained
• Oversee management and project monitoring requirements on conventional and construction loans, both direct and Partner-originated
• Adjudicate complex commercial credit facilities (i.e. renewals, assumptions, annual reviews, etc) ensuring the request falls within the Company’s lending and regulatory requirements and is in compliance with the Company’s delegated authority limits
• Develop, implement, and maintain production and service metrics to measure and support best-in-class turnaround times on completion of portfolio underwriting / renewals with a goal of exceeding customer service, accountability, and transparency targets
• Communicate and co-operate with internal and external parties providing optimum service to maintain long standing relationships
• Prudent oversight of the portfolio by way of completion and / or review of portfolio reporting in an effort to ensure the portfolio is operating within threshold and to proactively identify, communicate, and manage elevated risks
• Work collaboratively with Credit Risk and Special Loans in ongoing management and resolution of challenged commercial facilities

Let's Talk About You!

• Post-secondary education (diploma / degree) in business or finance, MBA / CFA and / or CPA designation preferred
• Have a minimum of 8 years commercial / construction mortgage experience with a minimum of 4 years of management experience with commercial lending and portfolio management experience
• Highly developed verbal and written communication skills with the ability to communicate to Senior Management, Partners and Borrowers in a clear, concise and professional manner
• Proven ability to inspire a team to work toward a set of goals and objectives
• Sound technical knowledge of commercial lending, financial statement analysis and factors affecting the Canadian commercial lending environment
• Detail-oriented individual who possesses a high level of integrity
• Proven ability to thrive in a constantly changing environment and to perform well in a high volume, high intensity environment
• Strong analytical and problem solving skills
• Strong organizational and time management skills
• Ability to handle multiple competing priorities is a must

Job Complexities / Thinking Challenges

The position requires the incumbent to be a self-starter with the ability to prioritize work flow and allocate resources effectively.

In addition, the incumbent will need to effectively analyze and make decisions on sometimes complex deal structure issues with incomplete information.

The incumbent shall possess strong cognitive skills and professional judgement to property assess risk and rely on past experience to assist in mitigating same.

The individual should also have the ability to coach / motivate employees to consistently develop and achieve aggressive departmental targets.

What we offer For full-time permanent roles

Competitive discretionary bonus

Market leading RRSP match program

Medical, dental, vision, life, and disability benefits

Employee Share Purchase Plan

Maternity / Parental top-up while you care for your little one

Generous vacation policy, personal days and even a moving day

Virtual events to connect with your fellow colleagues

Annual professional development allowance and a comprehensive Career Development program

A fulfilling opportunity to join one of the top FinTechs and help create a new kind of banking experience

The incumbent will be working hybrid and in office time will be spent working from Equitable Bank’s additional office space located at 351 King Street East, Toronto, ON.

Equitable Bank is deeply committed to inclusion. Our organization is stronger and our employees thrive when we honour and celebrate everyone’s diverse experiences and perspectives.

In tandem with that commitment, we support and encourage our staff to grow not just in their career path, but personally as well.

We commit to providing a barrier-free recruitment process and work environment for all applicants. Please let us know of any accommodations needed so that you can bring your best self to the application process and beyond.

All candidates considered for hire must successfully pass a criminal background check and credit check to qualify for hire.

While we appreciate your interest in applying, an Equitable recruiter will only contact leading candidates whose skills and qualifications closely match the requirements of the position.

We can’t wait to get to know you!