Business and Financial Operations · Holland code CES

Loan Officers

Evaluate, authorize, or recommend approval of commercial, real estate, or credit loans. Advise borrowers on financial status and payment methods. Includes mortgage loan officers and agents, collection analysts, loan servicing officers, loan underwriters, and payday loan officers.

Also called: Commercial Loan Officer, Financial Aid Counselor, Loan Counselor, Loan Officer, Commercial Banker, Corporate Banking Officer, Financial Aid Advisor, Financial Aid Officer.

O*NET 13-2072.00

At a glance

US median annual pay: $76,690; Middle half earn $52,730 to $104,080. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
Most common education: Bachelor's Degree; 69% of workers surveyed by O*NET report this level.
Preparation needed: Job Zone 4 of 5; Considerable preparation. Zone 1 is little or none; zone 5 is graduate-level.
US employment outlook, 2024 to 2034: +2% · Slower than average; 301,400 jobs in 2024, projected 306,500. BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, which groups this with similar roles as "Loan officers".

What the work involves

The tasks workers in this occupation rate as most important, from the O*NET survey.

Meet with applicants to obtain information for loan applications and to answer questions about the process.
Analyze applicants' financial status, credit, and property evaluations to determine feasibility of granting loans.
Approve loans within specified limits, and refer loan applications outside those limits to management for approval.
Explain to customers the different types of loans and credit options that are available, as well as the terms of those services.
Submit applications to credit analysts for verification and recommendation.
Review loan agreements to ensure that they are complete and accurate according to policy.
Review and update credit and loan files.
Obtain and compile copies of loan applicants' credit histories, corporate financial statements, and other financial information.

Skills and knowledge it leans on

Skills

Active Listening4.0 / 5
Speaking4.0 / 5
Reading Comprehension3.9 / 5
Critical Thinking3.8 / 5
Writing3.4 / 5
Mathematics3.3 / 5

Knowledge areas

Customer and Personal Service4.7 / 5
Economics and Accounting3.9 / 5
English Language3.8 / 5
Mathematics3.7 / 5
Sales and Marketing3.5 / 5
Law and Government3.3 / 5

Importance ratings on O*NET’s 1 to 5 scale. Higher means the occupation depends on it more.

Who tends to enjoy it

How strongly this occupation draws on each of the six Holland interest types, which is the same profile the career interests test compares you against.

Realistic7
Investigative22
Artistic0
Social44
Enterprising66
Conventional85

The same work abroad

Other countries classify jobs differently, so these are the closest matches through the international ISCO-08 standard, not exact equivalents.

European occupation titles (ESCO)

corporate banking manager · DE Geschäftskundenberater/Geschäftskundenberaterin · FR chargé de clientèle «entreprises»/chargée de clientèle «entreprises»
mortgage broker · DE Hypothekenmakler/Hypothekenmaklerin · FR courtier en prêts immobiliers/courtière en prêts immobiliers
bank account manager · DE Bankkundenberater/Bankkundenberaterin · FR gestionnaire de clientèle bancaire
credit adviser · DE Kreditberater/Kreditberaterin · FR conseiller crédits/conseillère crédits
credit analyst · DE Kreditprüfer/Kreditprüferin · FR analyste prêt bancaire
credit manager · DE Kreditmanager/Kreditmanagerin · FR responsable des crédits

Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)

Estimators, valuers and assessors (3541)57,000 employed
Credit controllers (4121)29,000 employed
Finance and investment analysts and advisers (2422)268,700 employed

Employment is the UK Annual Population Survey for April 2025 to March 2026, all workers in the group, which can be broader than this one occupation.

Pay across Europe, for the whole group

Median annual earnings of all employees in “Technicians and associate professionals”. This is the broad ISCO group this occupation falls in, not the occupation itself, so treat it as context for the wage level, not as a salary for this job.

Median annual earnings, Technicians and associate professionals, by country
Country	Median pay
Belgium	€50,992
Austria	€46,986
Germany	€44,473
Netherlands	€42,448
Ireland	€41,613
Sweden	€41,155
Italy	€34,882
France	€34,816
Spain	€29,757
Portugal	€18,080
Poland	€12,108

Eurostat Structure of Earnings Survey, businesses with ten or more employees outside public administration, in euro and not adjusted for the cost of living. Reference years differ between sources: the US, Japan and Europe figures on this page come from different survey years, so compare them as rough levels, not to the euro or yen.

Exposure to AI

This occupation sits in the higher third of the 774 occupations scored, with an exposure score of +1.39. The scores are standardized across those occupations, so 0 is the average and a score of 1 is about one standard deviation above it.

Our note on reading it: the dataset links AI applications to the abilities that occupations require, so the score reflects overlap between the two. It is a comparison between occupations, not a forecast about jobs. It does not say whether exposure means tasks are replaced or workers get more done with the tools, and it says little about one employer or one role.

Source: Felten, E., Raj, M., & Seamans, R. (2021). Occupational, industry, and geographic exposure to artificial intelligence: A novel dataset and its potential uses. Strategic Management Journal, 42(12), 2195-2217. Matched to this page by 6-digit SOC code (13-2072).

Is it a fit for you?

Interest is one input, alongside ability, pay and what is hiring near you. The career interests test takes about thirteen minutes and ranks occupations by how closely their profile matches yours.

Take the career interests test