Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, December 3, 1994 TAG: 9412050032
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: A8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MAG POFF STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Richard Carling, senior vice president for commercial lending at First Union National Bank of Virginia, said 30 new positions have been filled with people from outside the bank. Over the next few months, Carling said, he anticipates that another 35 jobs will open at the bank's operations center in Roanoke County.
The new group will serve commercial lending operations in Virginia, Maryland, the District of Columbia, Tennessee and the Carolinas.
Carling said he did not know the salary ranges of the new jobs, but added that the new group is composed of paralegals, administrative staff and people experienced in drafting documents for credit transactions. They will work with bank lawyers and private attorneys in the affected states.
Assignment of the jobs to Roanoke stems from First Union's desire to use vacant office space it has in the Roanoke Valley and from the bank's experience with the quality of the region's work force, Carling said.
The reorganization took effect this week, starting a 30-day shake-down period, Carling said. He called it "a massive undertaking" that caused extensive reshuffling of jobs but no layoffs.
The changes followed a two-year study of the fundamental process in which customers said they wanted faster, more efficient service, particularly for loan requests, he said. The same study will lead to a revamping of First Union's commercial real estate operation in 1995.
The reorganization put employees in positions with better-defined job responsibilities, Carling said. "This will allow them to focus on customers instead of paperwork and processes."
A "relationship manager" will be the primary contact for customers. He said the manager "will keep in touch with current and potential customers to make sure they are getting the banking services they need."
For loan requests, the relationship manager is supported by a team of underwriters who analyze a customer's financial condition based on information from the customer and provide a decision in a matter of days.
Once the loan is closed, a portfolio management team monitors loan performance and the condition of the company. Commercial customers can call a customer-service unit for account-analysis questions, balance information, wire transfers, opening accounts, stop payments, loan questions and cash management.
In the past, an account officer handled all loan underwriting and servicing in addition to taking care of customers and looking for new business.
by CNB