Mortgage Loan Officer Salary

In many cases, loan officers play a part in helping us finance the important key events in our lives. Buying a new car, investing in a new home, or financing a college education are some of many dreams that loan officers can help us achieve. It’s a noble profession and one that has the potential of being highly rewarding and satisfying.

Estimated Loan Officer Salary

It’s difficult to pinpoint an exact loan officer salary because it’s largely dependent on education, experience, location and tenure. In the United States loan officers can expect to earn an average of $41,000 a year with total cash compensation bottoming out at approximately $27,000 and gets close to $76,000 on the high end. The highest paid positions come with bonuses of around $10,000 and about $9,000 from profit sharing. A significant number of people in this profession have reported that they also receive medical coverage from their employers as well as dental insurance, perks that go a lot way towards job satisfaction.

The highest paid salaries in the loan officer profession work in the metropolitan areas of Sale and Lawrence, Massachusetts, New York City, Midland, Texas, San Francisco, California and Ocala, Florida.

Loan Officer Employment Opportunities

The majority of loan officers are employed by credit unions, commercial banks, mortgage companies, and associated financial institutions. Most consumer and commercial loan officer’s work on a full time basis and typically long hours. With the exception of consumer loan officers, traveling to consult with clients is fairly common.You can always check our site for the most current loan officer jobs.

Loan Officer Education and Training

Loan officers are generally required to have a minimum of a bachelors degree, ideally in a business related field which include accounting, finance and/or economics. Mortgage loan officers must have a mortgage loan originator license that requires that they pass an NMLS exam, have a minimum 20 hours of NMLS course work and successfully get through a MLO credit check and MLO background checks. Further on the job training takes place as well. This is usually a combination of formal, sponsored training as well as informal training over the first few months of employment. Licenses need to be renewed every year, and NMLS continuing education requirements may come into play in different states.

Loan officers whose career path progresses to positions that include Branch Manager or Bank VP role will result in a significant pay raise. On average, a Branch Manager or Bank VP can earn approximately $71,000 annually. It’s fairly common for loan officers to move into positions as Commercial loan officers or Bank Branch managers, groups that report median salaries that typically come in at around $25,000 and $11,000 higher, respectively.

Loan Officer Skill Sets

Important loan officer skill sets include the ability to handle commercial loans, residential loans and financial analysis, all associated with pay that’s substantially above average, resulting in increases of 22%, 46% and 13%. Skills sets that pay less than the average market rate include customer service, loan processing and consumer loans. For many individuals, proficiency in consumer loans usually means knowledge of loan underwriting and customer service.

The best loan officers are devoted, determined salespeople because most are compensated exclusively on commission. It’s also important to be detail oriented, because today’s loans include numerous data factors. In addition, loan officers need great decision making skills because they need to be able to analyze an applicants financial information in order to decide whether to award a loan. Successful loan officers are also good at disciplined follow up and communication, with exceptional customer service being the key to their success. Stellar customer service skills will lead to more business in the future. Those that focus on doing a great job and treating people fairly will also get referrals – the key to success in any industry.

So if you are ready to start your career as a loan officer select you State from here and sign up for your classes to get started!