Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Director of Business Banking

🎯 Role Definition

The Director of Business Banking leads the strategic direction, revenue growth, credit quality, and operational excellence for a bank’s business banking portfolio (SME, small to mid-market and commercial clients). This role combines commercial lending expertise, relationship management, product distribution, risk and regulatory oversight, team leadership, and P&L accountability to deliver sustainable growth, customer-centric solutions, and consistent compliance with regulatory standards. The Director partners closely with product, treasury services, credit risk, marketing, digital channels and regional leaders to align business objectives and execute go-to-market strategies.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Senior Relationship Manager — Commercial/Business Banking
Commercial Lending Manager / Underwriting Lead
Regional Business Banking Manager

Advancement To:

Head of Business Banking / Regional Head of Commercial Banking
Chief Commercial Officer or Head of Middle Market Banking
Executive Vice President, Corporate & Commercial Banking

Lateral Moves:

Head of Treasury & Cash Management Sales
Director of Relationship Management Programs
Product Head — Commercial Deposits or Lending Solutions

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Drive the strategic growth plan for business banking by defining target markets, segmentation strategies (SME, small commercial, middle market), and go-to-market initiatives that increase deposits, fee income, and loan originations while preserving credit quality.
Own P&L responsibility for the business banking portfolio, setting revenue and expense targets, managing margin optimization, and delivering predictable, measurable financial performance aligned to enterprise goals.
Lead the origination, underwriting and portfolio management process for commercial loans and lines of credit, ensuring disciplined credit standards, proper documentation, timely renewals, and proactive remediation of problem credits.
Develop and coach a high-performing multi-disciplinary sales and relationship management team, including hiring, goal setting, performance management, training, and succession planning to scale coverage and deepen client relationships.
Establish and execute cross-sell strategies with product partners (treasury services, payments, merchant services, commercial cards, deposit products, and lending solutions) to increase share-of-wallet and deliver comprehensive client solutions.
Manage enterprise and regulatory risk related to the business banking book, partnering with credit risk, compliance and audit teams to enforce policies (BSA/AML, CRA, fair lending), remediate findings, and enable a sustainable risk/return profile.
Build and maintain senior-level client relationships with strategically important commercial accounts, negotiating complex structures, pricing and terms while balancing risk mitigation and revenue goals.
Implement data-driven portfolio management and reporting frameworks that provide visibility into growth trends, sector concentrations, delinquency drivers, and provisioning needs; leverage analytics to inform strategy and decisions.
Oversee loan pricing, spread management, and deal economics to ensure competitive positioning while protecting portfolio quality and organizational profitability.
Lead origination pipelines and review processes for large or complex credit requests, partnering with credit committees to present risk-adjusted decisions and ensure transparency in approvals.
Collaborate with marketing, digital channels and product development to design and launch targeted campaigns, digital onboarding flows, and product bundles that drive acquisition, activation and retention of business banking clients.
Design and execute territory and coverage models that optimize sales productivity, minimize overlap, and prioritize high-value prospects and existing clients for expansion.
Drive deposit growth initiatives including product innovation, branch and digital engagement strategies, community bank partnerships, and targeted pricing campaigns to bolster liquidity and core funding.
Monitor regulatory and macroeconomic developments affecting commercial lending and deposit markets, ensuring the business adjusts underwriting policy, stress testing parameters and client outreach accordingly.
Champion client experience improvements by streamlining account opening, loan documentation, collateral perfection, and service escalations to reduce friction and increase client satisfaction and retention.
Manage vendor relationships and third-party providers (credit bureaus, technology vendors, payment processors) to improve operational efficiency, reduce cost and accelerate delivery of new capabilities.
Coordinate with treasury and liquidity teams to structure cash management and deposit strategies for corporate clients, providing tailored solutions that increase balances and fee income.
Lead pricing governance and exception processes for deals outside of standard appetite, ensuring appropriate approvals, documentation and escalations are followed.
Drive continuous improvement and operational excellence across business banking workflows — from origination to servicing and collections — to reduce cycle times, error rates and operational risk.
Serve as a visible business leader in the market, representing the bank at industry forums, client events, and community initiatives to build brand awareness and generate new business opportunities.
Establish KPI frameworks and executive reporting for board-level visibility on portfolio growth, risk metrics, client acquisition, revenue drivers, and strategic initiatives.
Partner with technology and data teams to prioritize digital transformation projects (CRM enhancements, automated underwriting, e-signature) that materially improve speed-to-client and cost-to-serve.
Lead scenario planning, stress testing and contingency strategies for economic downturns or localized credit cycles to protect capital and maintain profitable operations.
Ensure robust onboarding, training and knowledge transfer for junior credit officers and relationship managers to maintain institutional underwriting standards and build bench strength.

Secondary Functions

Support ad-hoc data requests and exploratory data analysis.
Contribute to the organization's data strategy and roadmap.
Collaborate with business units to translate data needs into engineering requirements.
Participate in sprint planning and agile ceremonies within the data engineering team.
Prepare and present quarterly business reviews for executive leadership and the board, highlighting trends, risks, and opportunities.
Act as escalation point for complex client or credit issues requiring coordinated resolution across legal, operations, and credit teams.
Participate in community outreach and business development events to build referral networks with CPAs, law firms, commercial brokers and trade associations.
Mentor high-potential talent and sponsor internal development programs to strengthen leadership pipeline within business banking.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

Commercial lending and credit underwriting (cash flow, collateral, covenant structuring) expertise for SME and mid-market clients.
Portfolio management with experience monitoring concentrations, performing stress tests, and implementing remediation plans.
P&L ownership, budgeting and financial forecasting for a lending and deposit portfolio.
Deep knowledge of regulatory compliance relevant to banking: BSA/AML, CRA, OFAC, consumer/commercial lending regulations.
Strong financial statement analysis including balance sheet, income statement and cash flow modeling.
Treasury and cash management product knowledge (ACH, wire, merchant services, sweep accounts, liquidity solutions).
Loan structuring and documentation oversight, including experience with syndicated or participations as applicable.
Pricing strategy and margin management for loans and deposit products.
CRM proficiency (Salesforce or equivalent), pipeline management and sales analytics tools.
Data-driven decision-making with familiarity in business intelligence tools such as Power BI, Tableau, or advanced Excel modeling.
Credit governance and committee presentation skills, including preparing packages for credit approval.
Experience with digital banking platforms, e-signature, and straight-through processing initiatives that accelerate client onboarding.

Soft Skills

Strategic leadership with the ability to translate vision into executable plans and measurable outcomes.
Relationship-oriented sales leadership and strong client-facing capability.
Excellent oral and written communication, including executive-level presentations.
Coaching and talent development mindset with demonstrated experience growing teams.
Strong negotiation skills and commercial instincts with the ability to balance revenue and risk.
Analytical problem-solving and comfort with ambiguity in complex deals.
Influencing and stakeholder management across product, risk, operations and technology partners.
High ethical standards, sound judgment and proven ability to maintain confidentiality and compliance.
Change management skills to lead transformation initiatives and drive adoption across teams.
Resilience, adaptability and a results-oriented approach under pressure.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Business Administration, Economics, Accounting, or a related field.

Preferred Education:

Master’s degree (MBA or MFin) or relevant graduate degree; professional certifications such as CFA, CPA or Certified Commercial Lender are a plus.

Relevant Fields of Study:

Finance
Business Administration
Economics
Accounting
Banking & Financial Services

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

10–15+ years of progressive experience in commercial/business banking, commercial lending, or relationship management with demonstrated leadership responsibilities.

Preferred:

12+ years with at least 5 years in a senior leadership or director-level role overseeing teams, P&L responsibility, and portfolio stewardship.
Proven track record of leading origination and deposit growth, managing credit lifecycle and driving cross-sell in SME and middle market segments.
Experience working with digital transformation initiatives, underwriting automation, or CRM-driven sales processes.
Prior experience interfacing with regulatory examiners, audit teams, and serving on or presenting to credit committees is strongly preferred.