Franchise Finance Relationship Manager III

As a leading bank, SouthState has been providing financial solutions to individuals, families, and businesses for more than 100 years.

SouthState team members strive to create remarkable experiences while building meaningful and lasting relationships. We are proud to be a reflection of the communities we serve, and our team members share core values that make SouthState a great place to bank, and a great place to work.

SUMMARY/OBJECTIVES

The Franchise Banker is a member of the business development team within the Franchise Finance line of business. The Franchise Banker works with both prospective and existing borrowers along with loan program sponsors (franchisors and referral partners) to obtain complete loan packages, recommend loan structures, assess credit risks, develop deal screens (referred to as "view memos"), engage Risk Management for loan approval, and assist as needed with the loan closing process. The Franchise Banker serves as the single point of contact for prospective and existing borrowers and a dual point of contact (along with Franchise Finance leadership) for loan program sponsors. The Franchise Banker assists Franchise Finance leadership and Risk Management in assessing and approving new franchise loan programs and periodic review of existing franchise loan programs.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Manage and act upon in-bound communication specific to new loan opportunities. These communications are generally from prospective and existing borrowers and loan program sponsors.
• Participate in effective business development activities to secure new clients and expand existing client relationships.
• Engage directly with loan program sponsors and borrowers to understand critical issues and expectations for each loan request. Gather information to assemble complete loan packages.
• Engage Risk Management to spread financial statements and relevant forecasts. Develop preliminary assessments of performance and credit risk using this financial information.
• Recommend appropriate loan structure within framework of approved loan program parameters and create view memos to include (1) overview of borrower and loan request, (2) recommended loan structure and pricing, (3) initial assessment of credit risk, and (4) identification of strengths, weaknesses / critical issues, and relevant mitigates inherent in the loan opportunity. Obtain loan approval from Risk Management with concurrence from Franchise Finance leadership.
• Create discussion term sheets and present to the prospective borrowers. Negotiate terms as needed.
• Coordinate with Risk Management and external legal counsel to generate loan documents.
• Negotiate loan documents with borrower and loan program sponsor as needed.
• Assist with loan closing process as needed to ensure Risk Management, Loan Closing Administration, Loan Operations, borrower, borrower counsel, and loan program sponsor are effectively engaged.
• Coordinate with Treasury Services Sales to develop deposit relationships, when feasible and beneficial to borrower.
• Serve as primary point of contact for assigned borrower relationships.
• Assist Franchise Finance leadership with business development activities including (1) solicit prospective borrowers; (2) assess franchise concepts for consideration as new loan programs, (3) create and update internal information memorandums (referred to as "concept memos") for various loan programs, and (4) participate in and lead ad-hoc projects as needed.
• Assist Risk Management as needed on critical issues identified in monitoring financial performance of borrowers including past due payments, covenant defaults, and documentation exceptions.
• Coordinate updates and delivery of internal/external scheduled reports including weekly pipelines and monthly / quarterly loan program portfolio reports.
• Remain up to date at all times on industry and competitive dynamics and impact of macroeconomic events on creditworthiness of loan programs and borrowers.
• Comply with the Bank Secrecy Act, OFAC and USA PATRIOT Act including Customer Identification Program, customer due diligence, identifying high-risk accounts, and reporting suspicious activities to Supervisor or BSA Department.
• Other duties as assigned.

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

COMPETENCIES

• Demonstrate exceptional verbal and written communication skills, interpersonal skills, and analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Proficient with Excel including modeling and advanced formulas; proficient with other Microsoft Office products.

Qualifications, Education, and Certification Requirements

• Education: Accounting / Finance degree preferred.
• Experience: Minimum of 5-10 years of commercial banking experience with strong base of selling and business development experience along with underwriting / financial analysis experience. Franchise banking experience preferred. Preferred experience to include business development activities

TRAINING REQUIREMENTS/CLASSES

Required annual compliance training, New Employee Orientation

PHYSICAL DEMANDS

Must be able to effectively access and interpret information on computer screens, documents, and reports. This position requires a large amount of time in front of a computer. This can be done sitting or standing with use of the right desk.

WORK ENVIRONMENT

This position is in a private office. The position is located inside a cooled and heated facility with ability to go to a break room or rest room during breaks.

Telecommuting roles no matter if hybrid or 100% full time telecommuting must have a secure home office environment that is free from background noise and distractions. They must also have a reliable private internet connection that is not supplied by use of cellular data (hot spot). Cable or fiber connections are preferred. Requirements are subject to change, as new systems and technology is delivered.

TRAVEL

Travel may be required to come to meetings as needed.