The economic environment and industry challenges facing community financial institutions mean that managing risk and driving growth are imperative for credit unions. As a result, credit risk management is vital, and credit analysts play a critical role in the success of their credit unions' credit risk functions.

Loan review and credit risk consultant Ancin Cooley recently led an Abrigo webinar, "CU Best Practices for Credit Analysts," and said a strong credit analyst is extremely valuable. A strong credit analyst is one who is not only proficient in the routine skills related to determining the creditworthiness of applicants and preparing reports for management review and regulatory reporting. It is someone who also possesses certain soft skills that allow them to serve an important control function in the credit union. Their talent that goes beyond intellect plays an important role in managing credit risk.