Paul Watson Email & Phone Number

Pensacola, Fl, Us

Lake Jackson, Tx, Us

Senior Vice President, Lending: 9/22 - PresentResponsible for developing and implementing lending strategies for a $4.7B loan portfolio that align with theorganization’s overall goals and objectives. Oversees all lending activity for consumer, indirect, mortgage, and commercial lending functions, includingcollections and loan operations, to achieve organizational goals. Identifies business opportunities for growth in lending, seeks out lending products and/or vendors that willprovide volume, higher yield for respective portfolios, and drives member growth and satisfaction.  Partners with credit team to assess and manage all aspects of lending risk to include credit risk, interest rate risk,and operational risk. Sets risk tolerance levels, monitors loan portfolios, and insures compliance with regulatoryrequirements in conjunction with credit risk and compliance teams. Conducts financial analysis, feasibilitystudies for potential lending opportunities, assesses credit worthiness of borrowers, and evaluates loanproposals. Ensures that policies and procedures are in accordance with regulatory guidelines, industry trends, and strategiccorporate initiatives. Participates in executive decision-making by serving on ALCO and Business Lending Committee to maintain abalanced portfolio in accordance with the credit union’s strategic plan. Utilizes tech and data analytics to improve lending processes, enhance the member experience, and mitigaterisk. Manages five lines of business through five direct reports with 120 employees, which include loan officers,underwriters, processors, portfolio managers, and collection personnel. Implemented new centralized loan operations platform to optimize consumer lending efficiency by improvingdecisioning and processing turn times.

Jacksonville, Florida, Us

Vice President, Commercial Credit: 8/20 – 9/22Responsible for the management and overall credit quality of a $760MM commercial loan portfolio that included CRE,C&I, SBA, commercial equipment, business loans/lines of credit and specialty finance. Provided oversight for the development, maintenance, and monitoring of business lending policies andprocedures that ensured safe and consistent lending practices, while compliant with VyStar and NCUAguidelines and regulations. Managed a team of seven underwriters and one credit manager by providing the necessary coaching, trainingand recognition to obtain the highest levels of productivity and accountability. Ensured that all credit requests were reviewed for accuracy and clarity, were structured according to approvedcredit guidelines, graded properly, and compliant with NCUA regulations. Oversaw commercial credit department’s preparation for federal and state examinations, internal and third-party audits of commercial loan portfolio and lending practices. Reviewed and analyzed credit requests that required loan committee approval and prepared loan committeeagendas and minutes for each meeting. Approved or declined credit requests within designated authority and recommended approval or declination ofrequests which exceeded assigned authority. Constantly reviewed substandard loan portfolio with credit and lending teams and recommended potentialcourses of action to ensure proper credit grade for each loan.

Atlanta, Georgia, Us

Managed a portfolio of special asset credits and a commercial loan portfolio simultaneously.Responsible for the collection, restructuring, and improvement of the asset quality of at-risk loans with the goal ofreturning the loan to acceptable performing status or exiting the loan relationship with minimal or no loss to the bank. Managed all “watch” credits and criticized loans in the Jacksonville portfolio. Coached retail team on actions necessary to manage criticized assets in the retail portfolio through quarterlymanagement meetings to devise plans needed to improve asset quality. Worked closely with compliance team to ensure action plans adhered to bank and regulatory policies. Prepared quarterly written reviews to advise bank management of findings and developed action plans andreported status of significant problem credits to ensure proper risk rating and loan loss reserve for a $10MMcriticized loan portfolio with loans ranging in size from $500,000 - $2MM. Negotiated with borrowers on debt restructure, modifications, additional collateral, and discounts on variouscommercial loans with the avoidance of troubled debt restructures (TDRs) in all cases. Enacted forbearance, deed-in-lieu, and/or foreclosure where necessary to ensure best possible outcome for thebank. Addressed all potential regulatory and compliance issues associated with sub-standard credits to ensuresatisfactory review when presented to bank examiners, as well as reported any potential changes to loan lossreserve.

Atlanta, Georgia, Us

Managed a portfolio of special asset credits and a commercial loan portfolio simultaneously.Responsible for the collection, restructuring, and improvement of the asset quality of at-risk loans with the goal of returning the loan to acceptable performing status. Managed all “watch” credits and criticized loans in the Jacksonville portfolio. Coached retail team on actions necessary to manage criticized assets in the retail portfolio. Worked closely with compliance team to ensure action plans adhered to bank and regulatory policies. Prepared quarterly written reviews to advise management and developed action plans and reported status of significant problem credits to ensure proper risk rating and loan loss reserve for a $10MM criticized loan portfolio. Negotiated with borrowers on debt restructure and discounts on various commercial loans with the avoidance of troubled debt restructures (TDRs) in all cases. Enacted forbearance, deed-in-lieu, and/or foreclosure where necessary. Addressed all potential regulatory and compliance issues associated with sub-standard credits to ensure satisfactory review for examiners. Responsible for managing a $40MM portfolio of commercial real estate, construction/perm loans, income-producing commercial real estate, investment real estate, and home equity lines of credit. Responsible for sales and service of loan and deposit products to professional and executive clientele. Developed pipeline of new business through consistent calling efforts, as well as maintained and grew network of referral sources. Met with clients to determine personal and/or company’s financial status and current performance; as well as probed for cross-sell opportunities to deepen the relationship. Performed annual reviews of each credit in the portfolio. Achieved loan goal of $6MM, deposit goal of $2MM and produced $30M annually in fee income. Worked closely with underwriting team to identify and address potential weaknesses.

Jacksonville, Florida, Us

Vice President, Commercial Lending: 12/12 – 3/17Responsible for managing a $41MM portfolio consisting of working capital lines of credit, C&I loans, owner-occupiedcommercial real estate, construction/perm loans, income-producing commercial real estate, investment real estate, andhome equity lines of credit. Responsible for sales and service of loan and deposit products to professional and executive clientele. Developed pipeline of new business through consistent calling efforts focused on individual and professionalgroup prospecting; as well as maintained and grew network of referral sources. Met with clients on an ongoing basis to determine personal and/or company’s financial status and currentperformance; as well as probed for cross-sell opportunities to deepen the relationship. Performed annual reviews of each credit in the portfolio to determine credit strength, debt service coverage,financial strength, and assess borrower’s overall ability to repay the loan. Prepared loan packages and underwriting on loan requests up to $1MM. Achieved loan goal of $6MM, deposit goal of $2.4MM and produced $44M annually in fee income.

Jacksonville, Florida, Us

Vice President, Special Assets: 10/08 – 12/12Responsible for the collection, restructuring, and improvement of the asset quality of at-risk loans with the goal ofreturning the loan to acceptable performing status or exiting the loan relationship with minimal or no loss to the bank. Prepared written reviews to advise bank management of findings and develop action plans and report status ofsignificant problem credits on an ongoing basis for a $15MM commercial loan portfolio. Negotiated with borrowers on debt restructure, modifications, additional collateral, and discounts on variouscommercial loans. Enacted forbearance, deed-in-lieu, and/or foreclosure where necessary to ensure best possible outcome for thebank. Ensured loans were handled in accordance with bank and regulatory policies for determining proper loan gradeto comply with OCC and FDIC guidelines for a $15MM commercial loan portfolio.

Columbus, Georgia, Us

Vice President, Private Banking: Pioneered private banking and consumer lending departments for start-up bankingsubsidiary which grew to $200MM in loans and $185MM in deposits in less than four years. Responsible for cultivatingand expanding client relationships of small businesses and high net worth professionals. Served as primary point of contact for the small business customer/professional with revenues up to $2.5MM.Acted as small business specialist for the local branch network. Managed a $24MM loan portfolio which consisted of owner-occupied commercial real estate, working capitallines of credit, C&I loans, A/R lines, and home equity lines. Maintained sensitivity analysis and compliancepolicies related to the portfolio. Acquired and managed over $7MM in deposit relationships ranging from term products to cash managementand sweep accounts. Recognized for top sales performance companywide in 2005 and 2006. Successfully completed company’s commercial credit training school.

Senior Financial Specialist: Responsible for the sales and service of financial products to high income clientele,concentrating on individuals with an annual income over $150,000 and to small businesses with annual sales up to twomillion. Office maintained over $50MM in deposits. Served as small business lender for branch office for loans ranging from $50,000 to $500,000. Deposit validations averaged one million per month. Attained monthly investment sales of $150,000 through a variety of mutual funds, variable and fixed annuities,401K and defined-benefit plans. Originated and closed an average of $700,000 in home equity and small business loans per month. Achieved statewide deposit, loan, and investment product sales awards in 2002 and 2003. Helped branch achieve top 10% ranking in customer satisfaction.