To hire underwriters and credit analysts at volume, split the work into clear role levels, map talent at banks, NBFCs and other lenders before you open the roles, test every candidate on a real credit file, and run interviews in weekly batches with fast offers. Plan for 60 to 90 day notice periods and onboard each new hire to your credit policy before they get any approval authority. This guide shows how to do each step, what to pay, and how long it takes.
Lending is where much of India's fintech money is going. In the first half of 2026, lending and payments together took more than three-quarters of fintech funding, and digital lenders such as KreditBee raised large rounds to grow their books. Every rupee of new lending needs people who can assess risk. That is why fintechs, NBFCs and co-lending platforms are now trying to hire 10, 20 or 50 credit professionals at a time, often in the same quarter and from the same small pool.
Hiring one good underwriter is hard. Hiring thirty without lowering the bar is a different problem. It needs a plan, not just more job posts. Here is the approach we use at Savanna HR.
Which credit roles do you actually need?
"Underwriter" means different things in different lenders. Before you hire, define each level clearly, because the sourcing, testing and pay are different for each.
| Role | What they do | Typical experience |
|---|---|---|
| Credit analyst | Reads bank statements, ITRs, GST returns and bureau reports; prepares the credit note | 1–4 years |
| Credit underwriter (retail, personal, BNPL) | Approves or rejects files within a set limit; follows the scorecard and policy | 2–5 years |
| Credit manager (MSME, LAP, supply-chain finance) | Assesses business cash flows, visits customers, recommends larger loans | 4–8 years |
| Underwriting manager or team lead | Leads a team of underwriters, checks quality, handles exceptions | 6–10 years |
| Credit policy manager | Writes and updates the credit policy, scorecards and approval rules | 6–12 years |
| Head of credit or underwriting | Owns portfolio quality, approval authority and the credit committee | 10+ years |
A common mistake is to hire everyone as a "credit manager". You end up paying senior salaries for work an analyst could do, or giving approval authority to people who are not ready for it. Write a separate brief for each level.
What should you pay credit analysts and underwriters in 2026?
These ranges come from our Fintech Salary Benchmarks India 2026 and show annual cash CTC.
| Role | Mid level (3–7 yrs) | Senior (7–12 yrs) | Head / director |
|---|---|---|---|
| Credit risk analyst | ₹12–22 L | ₹22–40 L | – |
| Underwriting manager | ₹18–32 L | ₹32–55 L | ₹55 L–1.0 Cr |
| Credit policy manager | ₹20–35 L | ₹35–60 L | ₹60 L–1.2 Cr |
| Risk modelling / quant risk | ₹22–40 L | ₹40–75 L | ₹75 L–1.5 Cr |
Annual cash CTC (INR). FRM, CFA or PRM certifications add about 8–15% on average. Mumbai pays about 10–15% more than Bengaluru for senior risk and credit roles.
When you hire at volume, set one fixed band per level and stick to it. If every offer is negotiated separately, word spreads inside the team within weeks and you create pay gaps that drive early attrition.
Where to find credit talent
Good credit people are rarely active on job portals. Most are working and not looking. Map them before you open the roles. The main pools are:
- Private banks: retail and business banking credit teams. Strong on policy and process, used to clear approval limits.
- Large NBFCs and housing finance companies: high-volume retail and MSME underwriting, often the best match for digital lenders.
- Small finance banks and microfinance institutions: good for field credit and assessing customers with thin credit files.
- Established fintech lenders: people who already work with digital journeys, scorecards and app-based lending.
- Credit bureaus and rating agencies: analytical talent for credit policy and analytics roles.
- Chartered accountants and finance graduates: a strong pipeline for analyst roles, especially MSME credit.
Also check where your lending is. If most of your borrowers are MSMEs in Gujarat or salaried customers in South India, hire credit staff who know those markets and languages, not only people in your head office city.
Step-by-step: how to hire 20 or more at a time
1. Lock the brief with the head of credit
Agree the levels, numbers per level, locations, salary bands, notice-period limit and the products each hire will underwrite. Get two or three example profiles of people the head of credit would hire tomorrow. This one conversation saves weeks of rejected shortlists.
2. Build a market map before you post a single job
List the 30 to 50 lenders whose credit teams match your products, the team sizes, and the typical titles they use. This tells you where to source, what to pay and how hard each role will be to fill.
3. Run sourcing in parallel, not one role at a time
Combine direct outreach to mapped candidates, your own talent database, referrals from your first few hires, and selected job posts for analyst roles. Referrals work especially well in credit, because good underwriters know who else is good.
4. Screen fast with knockout questions
Before any interview, confirm notice period, current and expected CTC, location, the products the candidate has underwritten, and their approval limit. This removes most mismatches in a ten-minute call.
5. Test every candidate on a real credit file
This is the most important step. Give candidates an anonymised file with a bank statement, ITR or GST return, and a bureau report, and ask them to recommend approve, reject or approve with conditions. Ask them to explain their reasoning on:
- Income stability and how they calculated eligible income
- Obligations and FOIR (fixed obligations to income ratio)
- Bureau history, recent enquiries and any red flags
- Signs of fraud, such as circular transactions or edited documents
- For MSME files: cash flow, GST-to-bank-credit match and DSCR
A 30-minute file test tells you more than three rounds of conversation. It also means every hire meets the same standard, which is what volume hiring usually loses.
6. Interview in weekly batches
Block two fixed interview slots each week with the hiring managers and the head of credit. Batch candidates into those slots, and decide within 48 hours. Slow feedback is the main reason volume drives fail. Strong candidates have other offers.
7. Make offers quickly and stay close until joining
Credit professionals in banks and NBFCs usually serve 60 to 90 days of notice. Expect some counter-offers. Keep in touch every week until day one, share onboarding details early, and keep two or three backup candidates warm for each level. In our own fintech searches, steady follow-up between offer and joining is what keeps back-outs low.
How long does it take?
For a well-run drive, plan for about four to six weeks from brief to the first batch of offers, then 60 to 90 days of notice period before people join. Analyst roles fill faster. Underwriting managers and credit policy roles take longer. If you need people sooner, look for candidates already serving notice, or those who can negotiate an early release.
A simple way to plan: if you need 20 joiners, work backwards. Allow for some offer declines and a few back-outs, and keep a bench of strong second-choice candidates. The exact ratios depend on your brand, pay and location, so track them from your first batch and adjust.
Onboarding: protect your portfolio in the first 90 days
- Train on your credit policy first: even experienced underwriters need to learn your products, scorecards and exceptions process.
- Start with low limits: give new hires small approval limits and raise them as their decisions prove sound.
- Use maker-checker: have a senior review a sample of every new hire's decisions for the first one to two months.
- Track early quality: watch approval rates, policy deviations and early delinquencies by underwriter.
Under RBI's digital lending rules, the regulated lender remains responsible for the credit decision, even when a lending service provider sources or services the loan. Your underwriters are part of how you meet that responsibility, so record who approved what and on what basis.
Common mistakes when hiring credit teams at scale
- Hiring for titles instead of the products the person has actually underwritten.
- Skipping the credit file test to save time.
- Negotiating every offer separately and creating pay gaps.
- Giving full approval authority from day one.
- Hiring everyone in the head office city when your borrowers are elsewhere.
- Ignoring retention after joining. Credit people move for small pay differences, so clear growth paths matter.
How Savanna HR runs credit and underwriting hiring
We map credit teams across banks, NBFCs and fintech lenders, screen every shortlisted candidate against your brief and test them on the work before you meet them. For a newly funded Gurugram fintech, we built the core team across eight functions, from engineering to compliance, with only one offer back-out, replaced within two weeks. Read the full fintech hiring case study, or see our guide to hiring a fintech Compliance Officer.
Hiring a credit team? Share your requirement with Savanna HR.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you hire underwriters at volume in India?
Define clear role levels, map credit talent at banks, NBFCs and fintech lenders before opening roles, screen with knockout questions, test every candidate on a real credit file, interview in weekly batches and make offers within 48 hours.
What is the salary of a credit analyst in India in 2026?
A mid-level credit risk analyst with 3 to 7 years of experience typically earns ₹12–22 L a year in cash CTC at a fintech, rising to ₹22–40 L at senior level.
Where can fintechs find experienced credit underwriters?
The main pools are private banks, large NBFCs and housing finance companies, small finance banks and microfinance institutions, established fintech lenders, credit bureaus and rating agencies.
How long does it take to hire a team of underwriters?
About four to six weeks from brief to the first batch of offers for a well-run drive, followed by 60 to 90 days of notice period before most candidates join.
How should you test a credit underwriter in an interview?
Give them an anonymised credit file with a bank statement, income documents and a bureau report, and ask them to recommend a decision and explain their reasoning on income, obligations, bureau history and fraud signs.
