Bridging Underwriter

Afin Bank is a UK Bank designed for individuals whose financial needs often go beyond traditional banking models. It caters to a diverse clientele, including self-employed professionals, foreign nationals, and high-net-worth individuals. Afin Bank offers a range of services, including savings accounts, mortgages, and investments, all aimed at helping customers achieve their financial goals.  Our products are tailored to meet the unique circumstances of their clients, ensuring that everyone's financial journey is supported and inclusive. Driven by our vision to make banking simple, fair, and built around the customer, we combine expert understanding with innovative thinking to help people achieve their financial goals with confidence.  Our mission is to support individuals and communities that are often overlooked by traditional lenders, creating a safe and inclusive environment where customers feel understood, valued, and empowered to succeed. Backed by WAICA Reinsurance Corporation Plc, one of the world's leading reinsurance groups, Afin Bank is built on a strong foundation of financial strength, expertise, and long-term stability. We are committed to delivering straightforward, supportive banking solutions that help our customers build stability, grow wealth, and plan confidently for the future. Because at Afin Bank, we believe life doesn't fit in a box, and banking shouldn't either.   The role You will be responsible for underwriting regulated and unregulated bridging loans from application to completion, making sound, timely lending decisions within Afin Bank’s credit policy, risk appetite and delegated authority. Balance commercial judgement with robust credit assessment and good customer outcomes. Help strengthen the underwriting processes of a growing UK bank regulated by the FCA and PRA.   Key responsibilities Own a pipeline of bridging applications, prioritising cases, resolving outstanding information and meeting agreed service standards without compromising credit quality. Confirm each loan’s regulatory classification and apply the relevant requirements, referring uncertain cases to Compliance. Apply MCOB and Consumer Duty requirements where applicable, alongside the Bank’s policies for all lending. Assess borrowers, ownership structures, credit history, financial position, loan purpose and affordability where required. Evaluate security, loan-to-value, interest and fees, including retained or rolled-up interest. Challenge and evidence a credible repayment exit, including sale or refinance. Test timing, available equity and the impact of delays, cost overruns or lower property values. Review valuations, property condition, marketability and legal due diligence with valuers and solicitors; resolve issues affecting title, planning, charge priority or enforceability before completion. Approve or decline cases within delegated authority; otherwise make clear, evidenced recommendations to the authorised decision-maker. Escalate policy exceptions and set proportionate lending conditions. Work with brokers, Business Development, Credit Risk and Operations to progress cases, communicate decisions and confirm underwriting conditions are met before funds are released. Complete required customer and financial crime checks, including ownership, source of funds and sanctions checks, working with specialist teams. Escalate suspected fraud, inconsistencies and control concerns promptly. Maintain accurate, auditable credit files and decision records. Recognise customer vulnerability, support appropriate treatment and escalate potential customer harm or complaints. Support monitoring of repayment exits, approaching maturities and deteriorating cases with servicing and Credit Risk.  Assess extension requests within authority and improve policies, workflows and case data using lessons learned. You will lead on lending decisions within personal delegated lending authority. Where an application falls outside that authority, prepare and present a clear credit recommendation to the appropriate mandate level. Further to complex cases, you will be part of the Credit Committee and present  to CEO, CFO and CRO. You will produce clearly documented credit rationales; identify and escalate policy exceptions; assess source of funds and wealth and escalate any financial crime issues Person Specification Essential • Proven, recent experience underwriting both regulated and unregulated UK bridging loans from application through to completion, with the ability to manage a caseload independently. • Sound credit judgement: experience making lending decisions within delegated authority or producing robust recommendations for authorised approval, and challenging cases that fall outside appetite. • Practical knowledge of bridging regulatory classification, applicable mortgage affordability and repayment requirements, Consumer Duty, financial crime controls and the FCA/PRA banking environment. • Ability to assess borrower finances, corporate and special purpose vehicle (SPV) structures, valuations, property security, loan-to-value and realistic sale or refinance exits. • Clear credit writing and confident communication with brokers, valuers, solicitors and colleagues; able to explain decisions, challenge constructively and manage expectations. • Strong organisation, attention to detail and ownership. Comfortable working in a small, growing team and improving processes while delivering day-to-day underwriting. • Should be able to assess bridging exit strategies: Assess and independently validate the proposed repayment/exit strategy, including credibility, timing, dependencies and downside resilience, with particular consideration of refinance affordability, saleability and execution risk. Desirable • Complex property cases, such as refurbishment, development exits, multiple securities, second charges or semi-commercial and commercial property, within the lender’s approved product scope. • Monitoring bridging loans approaching maturity, assessing extensions, and supporting arrears or forbearance decisions. • Helping launch or improve a bridging proposition, lending criteria, underwriting procedures or systems; experience assessing foreign nationals or borrowers with UK visa requirements. Conduct and accountability Follow the Bank’s applicable FCA and PRA Conduct Rules, policies and controls. Act with integrity, due skill, care and diligence; be open and cooperative with regulators; treat customers fairly; observe proper standards of market conduct; and deliver good outcomes for retail customers where the relevant rule applies. Complete required training and raise risks, breaches and concerns promptly.   Our Values Curiosity Togetherness  Empowerment  Innovation    Benefits Our benefits package consists of but not limited to: 6x life assurance 26 days annual leave BUPA private medical insurance 15% pension (5% employee contribution and double matched as 10% employer contribution)  Annual discretionary bonus eligibility   Access to a suite of competitive benefits under Health and Wellbeing Colleague social events