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