Lender vs. Loan Officer

A lender is a bank, credit union, or financial institution that is providing the money to the borrower at closing, while the loan officer is the employee that is performing the loan origination functions for the lender.

Mortgage Broker vs. Lender

A mortgage broker is a professional who brings mortgage borrowers and mortgage lenders together, while a lender is a bank or other financial institution that gives out loans. A mortgage broker is someone independent of banks, credit unions, and other mortgage lenders. They are the intermediary between a client and a financial institution that offers mortgages. When a mortgage broker successfully makes a deal, they may make a commission from the client as well as the banking institution.

How To Become A Lender: What It Is and Career Path

What is a lender and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

As a Lender or a loan officer, you can be specialized in either commercial, mortgage, or consumer lending. Regardless they all perform similar duties. This includes searching for new clients, meeting with clients to compute personal data which will be used in evaluating loan risk, explaining the terms and conditions suitable for the client's need, and monitoring loan information. That said, a lender can be an individual or institution that offers financial services for another for interest. As a lender, you must keep in touch with existing clients to strengthen the bond with the clients and provide a higher chance for patronage and referrals.

As a lender or loan officer, certain skills are required of you. For example, you must be a good judge of character to start with. You should also be able to access people after considering their ways of behavior. Plus, you need communicational and writing skills, decision-making skills, independence, and interpersonal skills. A bachelor's degree in finance, business, economics, or any related course is the minimum educational requirement for this role. However, experience in the field is also welcomed. You will make an average of $44,575 in a year.

ScoreLenderUS Average

Salary

2.9

Avg. Salary $37,723

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

7.3

Growth Rate 4%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

5.5

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.48%

Asian 6.34%

Black or African American 9.34%

Hispanic or Latino 16.25%

Unknown 4.65%

White 62.95%

Gender

female 50.80%

male 49.20%

Age - 44

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 44

Stress Level

7.3

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

8.8

Complexity Level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

5.6

Work Life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a lender

Explore lender education requirements

Most common lender degrees

Bachelor's

63.1 %

Associate

16.4 %

Master's

9.0 %

Start to develop specific lender skills

Skills	Percentages
Customer Service	14.92%
Loan Applications	8.21%
Business Development	6.38%
Bank Products	6.30%
Origination	5.64%

Complete relevant lender training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New lenders learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a lender based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real lender resumes.

Research lender duties and responsibilities

Manage a multifacete commercial real estate investment firm.
Coordinate the real estate transactions including appraisals, inspections, loan origination and timely closing.
Point of contact between external company affiliate loan origination branches and licensing agencies.
Complete quarterly updates on all regulations and requirements to maintain NMLS nationwide licensing program.

Prepare your lender resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your lender resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a lender resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Lender Resume templates

Build a professional Lender resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your Lender resume.