SUMMARY
The Agriculture Lender position is responsible for soliciting, negotiating, underwriting and coordinating the closing of operating lines, FSA, agricultural building and land loans in compliance with Sauk Valley Bank’s lending policies and procedures; develops business checking and deposit relationships with customers; and promotes business for SVB by maintaining good customer relations and referring customers to appropriate staff for new services. The position assists in attaining established SVB goals through active participation in sales management and officer call programs, and is expected to provide leadership, training and support to less experienced loan officers and other staff members.
Assure compliance with all SVB policies and procedures, as well as, all applicable state and federal banking regulations.
ESSENTIAL DUTIES
Engages in business development activities and solicitation of new business; actively involved in instilling and maintaining a positive sales environment through education of SVB’s products and services.
Performs pre-qualification assessment and analysis of financial condition and risk of financing requests within framework of SVB credit culture and current economic and industry trends
Gathers and analyzes all information necessary to present a financing request to senior management of Loan Committee for approval; meets with existing or potential customers; visiting site of loans; negotiates loan terms and conditions; approves loans within established lending limits or refers and recommends acceptance to the Chief Lending Officer or Loan Committee
Coordinates processing of approved loans; ensures loans are processed according to agreement, customer needs and conformance with SVB lending policies; obtains sufficient information and/or documentation from customers; solves problems relative to processing and servicing of loans within his or her portfolio; approves loan disbursements in accordance with agreements
Ensures that certification or deletion of collateral is made by the appropriate personnel
Negotiates, underwrites and processes renewals of credit facilities
Approves loan payments, draws from lines of credit, and fund transfers within specified limits
Reinforces the application of superior customer service through his or her own example along with appropriate follow through with involved customers and employees
Serves as a member of the officer’s Loan Committee and regularly attends Director’s Loan Committee
Develops and maintains knowledge of financial industry, economy, market conditions, rates, vendors and competition.
Reviews NSF and overdraft reports for customers assigned within his or her portfolio; approves or declines such exceptions within established lending limits
Updates and corresponds with legal counsel and collectors on workouts, bankruptcies, and charge-offs to ensure all possible precautionary actions or measures are taken
Assists in meeting annual deposit and loan growth goals assigned by senior management
SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITY
The position of the Agriculture Lender is not responsible for the supervision of any employee(s).
ENVIRONMENT AND PHYSICAL ACTIVITY
The environment for this position is an open office that is mostly clean and comfortable. It may include some minor annoyances such as noise, odors, drafts, etc. The incumbent is in a non-confined office-type setting in which he or she is free to move about at will. This position may require long periods of sitting in one place and the ability to lift up to 30 pounds.
Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
MENTAL DEMANDS
The incumbent in this position must be able to accommodate to reading documents or instruments, detailed work, problem solving, customer contact, reasoning, math, language, presentations, verbal and written communication, analytical reasoning, stress, multiple concurrent tasks and constant interruptions.
MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS
These specifications are general guidelines based on the minimum experience normally considered essential to the satisfactory performance of this position. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill and/or ability required to perform the position in a satisfactory manner. Individual abilities may result in some deviation from these guidelines
- Bachelor’s degree (BA) or 5 years Agriculture Lending experience.
- Advanced experience, knowledge and training in financial statement and tax return analysis typically resulting from a combination of education in accounting, financial and/or credit analysis or related areas.
- Advanced experience, knowledge and training in all lending activities and terminology
- Advanced knowledge of related state and federal lending and compliance regulations, and other SVB lending policies
- Ability to work with no supervision while performing duties
- Current Illinois driver’s license and a vehicle with appropriate insurance coverage if required to drive in the course of performing assigned duties and responsibilities.
- The incumbent must be able to perform this position safely, without endangering the health or safety to him/herself or others.
Sauk Valley Bank is an Equal Opportunity Employer. SVB is committed to the provision of equal opportunity employment for all qualified persons in all job classifications in recruitment, selection and promotion without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, parental status, national origin, age, disability, military status, veteran status or any other protected status. Submission of this information is voluntary and is not considered in employment decisions. This information will be kept separate from the employment files and is considered confidential.
Sauk Valley Bank offers medical, short term disability, long term disability, life, vision, dental and 401K benefits to all full time positions. PTO will vary depending on the level of the position. This position is eligible for incentive.
Management reserves the right to change this position description at any time according to business needs.
Salary Range: $98,000 - $135,000 annually depending on experience
August 7, 2026
