How to become a loan officer
Official title: Loan officer
Also called: Lending officer, Lending administrator, Loan clerk
Loan officers interview applicants to collect personal and financial information to complete loan applications.
Main tasks
- Interview customers about their loan needs
- Collect customer personal and financial information
- Assess loan applications
- Prepare loan forms and documents
- Determine the value of assets
- Keep customer loan records updated
- Tell customers about loan decisions
- Write letters and loan documents
How to become one
You usually learn on the job to become a loan officer and qualifications and experience may be useful. You usually need NCEA Level 3 or University Entrance to do the study or training for this job. Other requirements: experience in similar work; to join a professional organisation; a New Zealand Certificate in Financial Services (Level 5); a New Zealand Diploma of Conveyancing (Level 6); a bachelor's degree in management and business studies, banking and finance, accounting or similar area.
Ways in
- University: Business & Commerce degrees, Offered by 6 universities in New Zealand
- Certificates and diplomas: Advanced certificates and diplomas in banking and finance. TEC links this job to study in banking and finance. Qualifications: NZ Cert in Financial Services, Cert in Financial Advice. Usually 6 to 11 months. Graduates of these qualifications earn a median $75,000 a year one year after study; 81% are employed one year after (TEC, from Stats NZ IDI data).; Advanced certificates and diplomas in legal practice. TEC links this job to study in law studies. Qualifications: NZ Dip in Legal Executive Studies, NZ Dip in Conveyancing. Usually 9 months to 1 year. Graduates of these qualifications earn a median $63,000 a year one year after study and $71,000 five years after; 89% are employed one year after (TEC, from Stats NZ IDI data).
Pay · Past change · AI and this job
- Most common pay: $70,000 to $102,000 a year (median $86,000), a TEC estimate before tax.
- Upper: $160,000 a year
- TEC's pay figures are estimates only. TEC says they must not be used to set pay, in pay negotiations or in visa applications.
- People employed in the group Credit and Loans Officers (Aus) or Finance Clerks (NZ): 2,514 at the 2018 Census and 3,327 at the 2023 Census (+32.3%). Past change, not a forecast.
- Generative AI could change many tasks in this job, which usually reshapes the work more than it replaces it, by the ILO's global estimate.
Who does this work
- In the group Credit and Loans Officers (Aus) or Finance Clerks (NZ), 68% of workers are female (sex at birth, 2023 Census).
- Where people in the group Credit and Loans Officers (Aus) or Finance Clerks (NZ) work (2023 Census): Auckland 42.4%, Wellington 13.5%, and Canterbury 10.2%.
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Questions people ask
How do I become a loan officer?
You usually learn on the job to become a loan officer and qualifications and experience may be useful. You usually need NCEA Level 3 or University Entrance to do the study or training for this job. Other requirements: experience in similar work; to join a professional organisation; a New Zealand Certificate in Financial Services (Level 5); a New Zealand Diploma of Conveyancing (Level 6); a bachelor's degree in management and business studies, banking and finance, accounting or similar area.
How much does a loan officer earn in New Zealand?
The Tertiary Education Commission estimates median pay at $86,000 a year, before tax. Most common pay is $70,000 to $102,000 a year.
Will AI change the work of a loan officer?
Generative AI could change many tasks in this job, which usually reshapes the work more than it replaces it, by the ILO's global estimate.
Sources
- Tertiary Education Commission (Tahatu Career Navigator): Tahatu career ideas: descriptions, tasks, pay estimates, people employed, employment change 2018 to 2023, entry requirements, registration, interest scores (Site scrape 2026-10 (816 career ideas, sitemap lastmod 2026-10-01)), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026
- Stats NZ (via Figure.NZ): Census totals by topic for individuals 2013, 2018, 2023 (CEN23_TBT_004): employed by occupation, ANZSCO V1.3, summed to unit group (2023 Census (CEN23_TBT_004)), CC BY 4.0 (Stats NZ), CC BY 3.0 NZ (Figure.NZ), retrieved 4 October 2026
- Stats NZ (via Figure.NZ): Census 2023: employed by regional council, occupation (ANZSCO V1.3 unit group) and sex at birth (2023 Census), CC BY 4.0 (Stats NZ), CC BY 3.0 NZ (Figure.NZ), retrieved 4 October 2026
- International Labour Organization, Generative AI and Jobs: A Refined Global Index of Occupational Exposure (ILO Working Paper 140, Gmyrek et al.) (ILO Working Paper 140, May 2025, Annex Table A1), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026
This content is sourced from the Tertiary Education Commission through the Tahatū Career Navigator website (www.tahatu.govt.nz) and used under the CC BY 4.0 licence. All or some of the information has been modified by Peernovo. TEC has not approved, endorsed or tested these modifications. TEC will not be held accountable for any errors within this content.
Qualification information from NZQA, used under CC BY 3.0 NZ.
This work is based on/includes Stats NZ's data which are licensed by Stats NZ for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence. Census data via Figure.NZ.
Includes information from O*NET OnLine by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.
Sources: Tertiary Education Commission, Tahatū Career Navigator (career ideas, pay estimates, entry requirements and study options, CC BY 4.0, modified by Peernovo); Stats NZ, 2023 Census (via Figure.NZ) and the National Occupation List (CC BY 4.0); NZQA qualification information (CC BY 3.0 NZ); O*NET interest scores (CC BY 4.0); ILO global generative AI exposure index (CC BY 4.0). Links between career ideas and ANZSCO groups, degree fields and broad job groups are Peernovo's.
These results are not official statistics. They have been created for research purposes from the Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI), which is carefully managed by Stats NZ.
Graduate outcomes: these results are not official statistics. They have been created for research purposes from the Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI), which is carefully managed by Stats NZ.
Updated 4 October 2026
