Senior Fair Lending Manager

Who We Are:

Cross River is a highly profitable fast-growing financial technology company recognized for the third year in a row by CB Insights as one of the 250 best global fintechs. Our comprehensive suite of innovative products powers financial solutions with a strong focus on regulatory compliance for our partners and their millions of consumers around the world.

We are on a mission to build the infrastructure that propels access, inclusion and the democratization of financial services. While our company has tripled in size over the last three years, our strong sense of purpose led Cross River to be named to American Banker’s list of Best Places to Work in Fintech for the last 4 consecutive years. The reason for this success is simple --- our nimble, adaptive, and collaborative family culture lives in every member of our growing team. Together we are at the forefront of technology and innovation in financial services and we invite collaborative and motivated high performers to join our rapidly expanding team.

Purpose:

This role reports directly to the Director of Fair Lending Compliance and is responsible for assisting with developing, implementing, and managing all aspects of the Bank’s Fair Lending Compliance Program required to maintain a satisfactory fair lending risk profile, within risk tolerance levels approved by the Board of Directors. This position assists the Bank with meeting its fair lending regulatory requirements and maintaining an appropriate Fair Lending Compliance Program that is suitable for its size, complexity, and business model. The Senior Manager advises the Bank’s Board of Directors, Executive Suite, oversight committees, Senior Management, and Bank personnel of emerging fair lending issues to ensure compliance directives are maintained and examination-ready guidelines are followed. The role also supports the Director to ensure department activities run smoothly and efficiently by providing leadership, training, and supervision within the department. The Senior Manager establishes and maintains relationships with internal and external stakeholders, including Lending, Servicing, customer contact teams, third parties, Risk, Government Affairs, regulators, and industry stakeholders.

Responsibilities:

• Assists the Director with implementation and oversight of the Bank’s Fair Lending Compliance Program, including policies and procedures, program governance, staff, and compliance with federal and state fair lending laws and regulatory guidance.
• Supports the Director with an “exam ready” approach and managing fair lending examinations.
• s interpretations and clarifications of laws, regulations and issues relating to the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA), Fair Housing Act (FHA), Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) , fair banking and servicing, as well as other regulations as applicable; identifies and coordinates the implementation of new and updated regulations.
• Leads the preparation of and serves as one of the Bank’s points of contact for regulatory examinations, internal audits, and reviews related to fair lending.
• Assists with corrective actions taken by management to address fair lending issues, including assisting with the implementation of corrective action plans, conducting follow-up reviews to determine the adequacy and effectiveness of the action taken and, effectiveness.
• Assists with developing and maintaining effective working relationships and communications internally as well as with regulatory agencies, lending partners, and industry stakeholders.
• Works with business units and FinTech partners engaged in lending activities to assess and implement fair lending-related risk mitigation activities, including controls and monitoring.
• Assists with support and education of business units and FinTech Partners concerning emerging fair lending risks impacting the Bank and appropriate risk management response.
• Delivers fair lending training to business units and third-party lending partners.
• Provide guidance on all fair lending related issues that arise internally at the Bank or at third-party lending partners.
• Review potential fair lending complaints and proposed responses from third-party lending partners, as necessary.
• Review and enhance Cross River’s internal policies and procedure documents to reflect current regulatory requirements and associated control functions maintained to properly mitigate fair lending risks.
• Provide regular reporting to the Director on progress, team performance, at risk deadlines, material risk issues, and updates for oversight committees.
• Supervise lower-level team members, as assigned by the Director.
• Support other risk mitigation efforts of the Director on an ad hoc basis.

Minimum Qualifications

• Minimum of eight (8) + years’ experience in fair lending compliance capacity, with five (5) + years’ experience in a project manager or lead position.
• Subject matter expert in fair lending laws, associated regulatory requirements, guidance, and examination standards.
• Demonstrated ability to research, read, and interpret government regulations, technical reports, and legal documents.
• Experience in developing and managing control processes required to maintain a proactive Compliance Management System (CMS) that meets regulatory expectations.
• Strong leadership interpersonal skills; ability to build consensus across diverse teams and achieve results through the efforts of other.
• Strong information and project management skills.
• Strategic and solution-oriented mindset with development analytical ability.
• Strong planning and organizational skills, with an ability to establish strategic direction and subsequently develop and manage supporting initiatives.
• Proven ability to prioritize and manage workload and to instill a sense of urgency in other as necessary to meet deadlines and/or goals.
• Extensive knowledge of bank operations and lending processes.
• Solid technology abilities, including intermediate proficiency with Microsoft Office and fundamental experience with fair lending or CRA reporting and analysis software (e.g., RiskExec, CRA Wiz, SAS, etc.)
• Excellent presentation and communication skills, including technical writing abilities.
• Ability to respond to fair lending inquiries or complaints, regulatory agencies, lending partners, or industry stakeholders.
• Ability to competently manage and support staff.
• Bachelor’s Degree required; advanced degree or certification preferred. Degree should have an emphasis in compliance, finance, regulatory review, accounting, law, government planning, or risk management, or an equivalent amount of relative experience.

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Salary Range: $130,000.00-170,000.00