MEMO

DATE:

March 29, 2016

TO:

Erin L. Ellsworth, Ph.D.

FROM:

Joe Knorp

SUBJECT: Corporate Research Project

Intrust Bank Commercial Lending Officer Job Description
The job position that I chose to research for this assignment is that of a commercial
lending officer at Intrust Bank. I chose this position because I find lending to be very
interesting in the banking industry and I am able to speak with lenders on a day-to-day
basis. As stated from bls.gov (2015), loan officers typically evaluate and authorize the
approval of loan applications for individuals and businesses. Lenders begin this process
by interviewing potential borrowers after they have submitted a loan application. These
loan applications, typically coming from businesses who are looking to fund a project or
their daily necessities in general, are either approved or denied depending upon past
credit history. Another factor that helps determine whether the applicant is suitable for a
loan or not is simply what kind of business they do. No loan officer wishes to do business
with someone whose industry is soon to collapse! Other duties of a loan officer include
attracting customers: whether that be on the golf course or taking a potential borrower to
lunch, loan officers are frequently out of office searching for a new candidate that might
need a loan. As you can see, part of the duties of a loan officer involves a sales aspect.
Necessary abilities for the position include great communication skills, ability to work
with excel and other types of computer programs, attention to detail, as well as a
bachelors degree. Loan officers typically start at an entry-level position in a bank before
they reach this career point such as a teller or banker, but there are always exceptions
depending on which bank you are located at or even who you know. According to Salary
Wizard (n.d.), a salary for a loan officer typically ranges from $52,000-$70,000, also
depending upon where you are located, amount of tenure as well as job performance.
Usually a loan officer will remain in this field or not stray too far such as becoming a
mortgage loan officer, which my interviewee Brandon Young said he has seen before.
Intrust Bank History and Commercial Lending Interview
According to Intrust Banks: A Brief History (2009), Intrust Bank is an organization that
was founded in 1876 by C.Q. Chandler II. First known as Farmers and Merchants Bank,
then later First National Bank, Intrust is the oldest homegrown Wichita Bank in
existence. With numerous locations in both Kansas and Oklahoma, as well as one in
Arkansas, the bank has remained in control by the Chandler family, as in now directed by
the great grandson of C.Q., C.Q. Charlie Chandler IV. The bank operates with over 500
employees and continues to offer many types of services including checking and savings
accounts, loans, and mortgages. For this project I chose to interview Brandon Young, who

Erin L. Ellsworth, Ph.D.

March 29, 2016

is a commercial loan officer here at Intrust Bank in Lawrence. The interview took place
on Wednesday, March 16, 2016 at 1 PM. I began speaking with Brandon by saying I am
interested in a career in commercial lending. Will you tell me some tactics you use on a
day-to-day basis and how you obtained the position you hold today? Brandon smiled as
he remembered that he was once in my shoes. I told him this would be the subject of my
interview but that I would like to start with his daily duties. Like I had researched,
Brandon reiterated that his job was mainly to attract potential borrowers. Whether he was
on the phone or at a business presenting what Intrust could offer for their future, he said
that he is usually talking to someone throughout the day. Once a potential customer is
found, it is up to Brandon to start the application process. These applications are then
reviewed by the commercial lending team as well as the Board of Directors to decide if
the borrower is applicable. When I asked Brandon what forms of communication are used
on a daily basis, he told me that email was one of the most necessary programs used. He
is constantly checking emails, not only from customers but also other members of the
lending team. He stated that everyone must be on the same page when it comes to
whether or not a loan should be accepted. Other forms of communication used in his
duties include memos and conference calls. These calls typically consist of the entire
commercial team, the regional bank president, and the Board of Directors if necessary.
He made sure I understood that decisions are made with A LOT of help from the board.
Brandon told me that the biggest communication issue in the workplace comes from
groupthink. When members of the team do not stand up and disagree if they believe the
loan might produce a default or just be trouble for the bank in general, this leads to
dysfunctional communication and faulty decision-making. Brandon told me that this is
usually not a reoccurring part of communication, but that it has happened in the past. He
believes that the issue is caused by someone not wanting to stand out or be looked down
upon by the group. He said that the solution he has come up with when dealing with this
type of problem is to tell everyone to leave their personal lives at the door and come
together to produce the best possible outcome. He also stated that weekly team meetings
and the so called book club that the team has formed has helped them form stronger
bonds in the workplace. The last book they read was titled Think and Grow Rich by
Napoleon Hill, and Brandon admitted that it proved to be useful in the workplace.
Brandon said he began working at Intrust as a teller in college. He was eventually
promoted to lead teller of his branch. One interesting thing Brandon told me was how he
bugged current regional president Doug Gaumer to offer him a job on the commercial
side of the bank, as he was very ready for it. Brandon was promoted and continues to
serve on the commercial lending team in Lawrence. He told me that to prepare for this
job, you might want to start at an entry-level position in a bank (as he winked at me
knowing I already have one foot in the door). He said that continued to devotion and
strong referral numbers (referring customers to bankers) landed him where he was today,
and that his experience starting from the bottom was a strong contribution to the position
he holds today. Finally, I wrapped up our interview by asking about the banking industry
in general. Brandon told me that the job can be stressful, but that you must stay focused
in order to drive the competition out the door. Otherwise, there will not longer be a
door, Brandon stated. I asked him if he thought new innovations such as technology
would eventually take over the personal aspect of banking. Brandon replied that it could
eventually be so, but probably not in our lifetime especially on the commercial side of

Erin L. Ellsworth, Ph.D.

March 29, 2016

banking. People need that face-to-face interaction as communication is key in most that
we do, he told me. Brandon said he plans to remain a commercial lender throughout his
career, although if a larger opportunity arises he knows it is there for the taking. I told
Brandon Thank you for your time. I have learned quite a bit and hopefully I can apply
this to my future career someday!

Erin L. Ellsworth, Ph.D.

March 29, 2016

References

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor. Occupational Outlook Handbook,

2016-2017 Edition. http://www.bls.gov/ooh/business-and-financial/loan-officers.htm
Commercial Loan Officer Job Description. Salary.com. Retrieved from
http://swz.salary.com/salarywizard/commercial-loan-officer-job-description.aspx
Intrust Bank: A Brief History (2009). Pamphlet
Job Description Summary.Commercial Lender.Intrust Bank (2015).
Young, Brandon. Personal Interview. 16 March 2016