AVP, Finance – Allowance for Credit Losses
Posted Sep 14, 2026 · We last checked this listing on Oct 6, 2026
Likely interview questions for this role
Written from this job description, not a generic list. Each one notes what the interviewer is really checking.
About your past
You'd work with consultants and other outside parties to understand key drivers. How do you make sure you understand a model you didn't build?
What they are checking: Whether they truly understand models built by consultants, since the bank remains responsible for numbers it did not calculate itself.
Tell me about a time your number was different from what someone senior expected.
What they are checking: Whether they stand by sound analysis when seniors disagree, since honest numbers protect the bank even when they are unwelcome.
What would you do
The reports go to internal management, external auditors and regulators. How does your work change when you know an examiner will read it?
What they are checking: Whether their documentation holds up to auditors and regulators, since examiners will read the work and question gaps.
A model output doesn't match what you'd expect from the portfolio. What do you do?
What they are checking: Whether they investigate unexpected model results instead of accepting them, since a wrong allowance can misstate the bank's financial position.
About the work
This role is central to the current expected credit loss estimate. Walk me through how an allowance estimate gets built from loan data to a number the committee approves.
What they are checking: End-to-end command of the process rather than one step of it
How do you perform variance analysis on allowance results, and what makes a movement worth explaining?
What they are checking: Whether they understand what drives allowance changes, since explaining movements well is how the bank defends its reserve.
How do you keep up with regulatory and accounting changes that affect the allowance?
What they are checking: The critical thinking about emerging change the posting asks for
The posting names Excel, Word and PowerPoint, with Power BI or another business intelligence tool desired. Where are you with each?
What they are checking: Whether they are honest about their Excel and BI skills, since the role relies on these tools for analysis and reporting.
You'd review documentation of processes and help others understand them. What makes a procedure document one people actually follow?
What they are checking: Whether they write procedures people actually follow, since documented processes are controls that regulators expect to work in practice.
The posting asks for five to seven years in accounting, statistics, finance, programming, economics or data analytics, with prior allowance for loan and lease losses experience. Where do you sit against that?
What they are checking: Whether their background matches the experience required, since allowance work needs both technical skill and loan loss knowledge.
Practice this interview out loud.
Offer builds a real interview for this exact role at Wintrust from your resume and this job description, asks the questions one at a time, and tells you what landed. The first one is free.
Practice this out loudThe full job description
As published by Wintrust.