Director, Commercial Originations, Commercial Finance Group

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 370,000 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 5 million members. Together we have over $100 billion in combined assets under management and administration, with a clear mandate to drive change in Canadian banking to enrich people's lives. Our EQ Bank platform (eqbank.ca) has been named the top Schedule I Bank in Canada on the Forbes World's Best Banks 2023, 2022, and 2021 lists.

The Work

The Director, Commercial Originations, Commercial Finance Group (CFG) is responsible for the growth of the Bank’s large commercial (mortgage loans $10 million and above) business in Ontario and Western Canada. The Director is accountable for enhancing the Equitable Bank and CFG brands while developing and maintaining productive business relationships with partners, brokers, and direct clients in Ontario and Western Canada.

Working directly with the Vice President and Managing Director, Commercial Real Estate Originations, this individual will lead a team of Regional Directors and Analysts within CFG Originations. The Director will oversee relationship management, business development activities, and pipeline management, while ensuring that customer issues and complaints are appropriately addressed in a timely manner. The individual will provide leadership and guidance to their team while collaborating with CFG leadership in Underwriting, Funding, and Portfolio Management.

The Director, Commercial Originations is responsible for ensuring that origination volume and profitability targets are achieved in Ontario and Western Canada.

The core parts of your role would be to:

• Provide leadership and guidance to the CFG Originations team to enhance the Equitable Bank brand and maintain a high profile in Ontario and Western Canada, while developing productive business relationships that support origination and portfolio growth.
• Responsible for the CFG Deal Tracker and for leading the weekly pipeline meeting between Originations and Underwriting.
• Continue to develop and maintain strong partner, broker, and direct client relationships at the Director level through representing Equitable Bank and CFG at industry events and by being accessible to our customers.
• Consistently reinforce a disciplined sales culture that delivers results for partners, brokers, and direct clients while ensuring that high quality service is provided to our customers.
• Champion new loans that push the boundaries of the CFG comfort zone but are within the Bank’s risk appetite and reflective of current economic conditions.
• Continue to partner with Business Enterprise Solutions (BES) to present a united front to the market and to develop new broker relationships.
• Work closely with the Senior Marketing Manager, Commercial Banking to develop and implement marketing tactics to support the growth of our CFG business in Ontario and Western Canada.
• Collaborate with Underwriting, Funding, and Portfolio Management to improve internal processes with a focus on the customer experience.

Let's Talk About You

• Have a minimum of 10 to 15 years of industry experience in commercial banking (all asset classes including construction financing) and relationship management.
• Demonstrated ability to drive origination volume growth by having consistently exceeded annual sales targets as a Regional Director or in a comparable commercial banking environment.
• Experience in structuring syndicated and investor loans.
• Post-secondary education with preference to a degree in business, finance, or economics.
• Self-starter and highly motivated individual that can inspire and lead a high-performing sales team.
• Ability to unify a team to work towards common goals and objectives.
• Highly developed verbal and written communication skills with the ability to interact with Bank management, partners, and borrowers in a clear, concise, and professional manner.
• Strong technical knowledge of commercial banking, construction financing, financial statement analysis, and factors affecting the commercial real estate lending environment.
• Individual with great business judgment that possesses a high level of integrity.
• Strong negotiation and presentation skills.
• Ability to operate with urgency with a focus on the customer experience at every stage of the sales cycle.
• Effective analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Strong organizational and time management skills to handle competing priorities.
• Autonomous ability to make decisions under pressure.

Job Complexities/Thinking Challenges:

• The role of Director, Commercial Originations requires a self-starter who can drive results. As speed to market is essential to securing business, the individual must effectively analyze and make decisions quickly and sometimes with limited information.
• The Director shall possess strong cognitive skills, professional judgment, and the ability to work independently. The individual must rely on past experiences to mitigate risk and structure creative credit solutions for partners, brokers, and direct clients. The Director must follow corporate policies, procedures, and regulatory requirements in rationalizing recommendations or decisions.
• The role requires an individual who can execute sales strategies and marketing initiatives that position the business for long-term success.

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