| Detail | For this role |
|---|---|
| Department | Banking and NBFC |
| Level | Senior management |
| Reports to | Chief Executive |
| Direct reports | Regional Credit Manager, Credit Manager, Area Credit Manager |
| Experience | 12+ years in credit with 4 years in credit leadership |
Head of Credit job description template
Copy this job description, replace the text in square brackets and post it on your careers page or a job portal.
Job title: Head of Credit
Department: Banking and NBFC
Reports to: Chief Executive
Location: [City], [office, branch or site]
About the role
A Head of Credit owns lending quality for a bank or NBFC. They set credit policy, approve large loans, and keep the portfolio healthy by balancing growth with risk. The role reports to the Chief Executive or Chief Risk Officer and leads credit managers and underwriters. A good Head of Credit lends soundly, sets clear policies that frontline teams can follow, catches risky proposals early and keeps the portfolio growing without letting bad loans build up.
Key responsibilities
- Set credit policy, lending norms and approval authority across products.
- Approve large and complex loan proposals within the delegated authority.
- Balance portfolio growth with sound risk and asset quality.
- Set underwriting standards and the credit appraisal process across products.
- Monitor portfolio quality, early warning signals and concentration risk.
- Lead credit managers, underwriters and the appraisal teams across regions.
- Coordinate with collections and risk teams on stressed and slipping accounts.
- Review and update credit policy as markets and rules change.
- Ensure compliance with RBI norms and internal credit controls.
- Present portfolio quality and credit risk to leadership and the board.
Requirements
- Postgraduate in finance or management
- Strong credit and underwriting record
- CA or CAIIB is an advantage
- 12+ years in credit with 4 years in credit leadership
KRAs and KPIs for a Head of Credit
Key result areas for the appraisal form, each with a KPI you can measure every month or quarter.
| Key result area | How to measure it |
|---|---|
| Portfolio quality | Non performing assets in the portfolio held within the approved limit |
| Approval turnaround | Credit decisions delivered within the agreed service levels |
| Growth with quality | Loan book grows to plan while asset quality is maintained |
| Policy compliance | Loans sanctioned within policy with no major deviation uncleared |
| Early warning | Stressed accounts flagged early and acted on before default |
| Audit outcome | Credit audit findings closed within the agreed timeline |
Skills and tools
Tools used day to day: Loan origination system, Credit scoring tools, Core banking system, MIS and dashboards, Advanced Excel.
Reporting line and career path
Next roles: Chief Risk Officer, Chief Executive, Business Head
Interview questions for a Head of Credit
- How do you balance loan book growth with asset quality?
- How do you set credit policy that frontline teams can follow?
- How do you appraise a large, complex loan proposal?
- How do you catch a risky account before it defaults?
- How do you handle pressure to approve a weak proposal?
- How do you keep credit within RBI norms and internal controls?
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What does a Head of Credit do?
A Head of Credit owns lending quality for a bank or NBFC. They set credit policy, approve large loans, set underwriting standards and keep the portfolio healthy by balancing growth with risk. They monitor portfolio quality and early warning signals and lead credit managers and underwriters, reporting to the Chief Executive or Chief Risk Officer.
What is the difference between the Head of Credit and Head of Collections?
The Head of Credit decides who to lend to and on what terms, keeping the loan book sound at origination. The Head of Collections recovers money from borrowers who fall behind. Credit controls quality at the start; collections manages it when accounts go overdue.
What qualifications does a Head of Credit need?
Most Head of Credit roles ask for a postgraduate in finance or management with a strong credit and underwriting record and twelve or more years, several in credit leadership. A CA or CAIIB is an advantage, along with sound judgement, portfolio management and command of RBI norms.