A day in the life of… Emmanuel Johnson, Underwriter.

Underwriter, Emmanuel Johnson, better known to TAB as EJ, shares insights into his role, upcoming developments from the business and why the vision of the business makes TAB an enjoyable place to work. 

EJ is up before sunrise with his alarm ringing at 4.30am. Before he’s even arrived at the office he’s found time to pray/read his bible, catch up on the news and get his daily exercise in. Once in the office, his routine consists of making a to-do list, where he likes to start with responding to emails for existing applications and in between any scheduled meetings or priority deals, he will underwrite new bridging loan applications that have been submitted by the sales team. 

As an underwriter he is evaluating applications for all types of loans and on average EJ could be looking at five different applications during any one day. The underwriting team is crucial to the loan origination process. He assesses the risk for all parties, and presents his findings to the credit committee on whether or not to proceed with the loan based on TAB’s lending and risk criteria. 

After work, he goes home to spend time with his family, and catching up with them on their day. Once the kids have been put to bed, EJ switches the TV channel over to sports or documentaries. Turning his lights out at 11pm to go to bed and get his rest ready for the next day. 

How long have you worked at TAB?

EJ: I started at TAB at the beginning of March 2021 so I have been at TAB for almost five months now. Prior to TAB I was an underwriter for another bridging lender, and before that I was a broker and underwriter for another firm where I had the largest 2nd charge residential loan on the lender's books. This might have changed by now, since that was over 2 years ago! 

What does your role at TAB involve?

EJ: The underwriting team is small but extremely efficient and at present there are just three of us in the team. My role is to review applications, check that the borrowers are good for us to lend to and make sure they have a viable repayment vehicle for us to get the money back within the set loan term. There are several bits of key information that we request in order to verify the borrower, understand their financial position and determine if we can assist them with their current needs. 

What’s the best thing about working at TAB?

EJ: The best thing about working for the company is the vision. The company's vision is clear and I see evidence of the business moving towards the goals daily. The right people are in place to make the vision a reality and the team are well equipped to succeed in their tasks. The company is well balanced and everyone is treated equally and valued. I love the fact that you are given the opportunity to think for yourself and make key decisions, I believe this naturally encourages growth.

What does the future hold for TAB?

EJ: The company is growing and as business levels increase so will the need for more underwriters, BDM’s, admin team and so on. In the future, I see myself as a senior or head underwriter allowing the head of underwriting now to move fully into management and executive duties and not having to underwrite but rather manage the process of what we do. I would be the go between him and other underwriters and once we get to a certain monetary value his sign off would be required. Weekly meetings would be set up to discuss progress on applications and any challenges allowing him to deal with things on a more executive level. Naturally as it stands, things work perfectly as they are but at the rate we are growing, roles could be tweaked to free up his time and give me some more responsibilities to assist him.