What is the main responsibility of an underwriter?

The main responsibility of an underwriter is to analyze the creditworthiness of the borrower. This process involves evaluating various factors such as the borrower's financial history, credit score, income, employment status, and existing debts. The underwriter assesses the risk associated with lending money to the borrower and determines whether the loan should be approved or denied based on this analysis.

By focusing on the borrower’s ability to repay the loan, underwriters help lenders minimize risks and make informed lending decisions. They play a crucial role in ensuring that the loans are sound and meet the institution's guidelines, which ultimately protects the financial organization’s interests while also ensuring borrowers are provided with feasible options tailored to their financial situations.

In contrast, finalizing loan documents, collecting due diligence documents, and monitoring ongoing loan performance are important functions in the lending process but are primarily outside the scope of the underwriter's core responsibilities. Finalization and document collection typically fall under loan processing or closing roles, while ongoing performance monitoring is generally a part of post-approval servicing rather than the underwriting phase.