Michael Scholten

Vice President Loan Officer, Marquette Business Credit (MBC)

40 Under 40 Category: Underwriting

Biography:

Michael Scholten is vice president loan officer, at Marquette Business Credit (MBC). A hard worker and problem solver by nature, Michael is always looking for the next opportunity to combine his passion for the industry with his financial experience.

Michael has worked with MBC for the past three years. In his role, he is responsible for managing deals from origination to completion. He is responsible for structuring deals and presenting the final recommendation to the credit committee. Michael is an expert at writing asset-based lending deals while ensuring risk is mitigated.

Prior to this role, he was a relationship manager at PNC Business Credit. Michael graduated from Xavier University with a degree in finance.

What is the best professional advice you have been given and how have you implemented it?

One of my favorite quotes—and advice I live by professionally—is from Warren Buffet: “Rule No. 1: Never lose money. And Rule No. 2: Never forget rule No. 1.”

I live by this advice daily as I work to help MBC and our clients grow smarter. In my role, I evaluate opportunities to ensure the deal structure is right for the client and the bank. I work with the clients and our team to manage risk across the middle markets of asset-based lending and factoring. I also develop creative financing solutions to resolve complex and often unique issues for our clients to ensure their business stays profitable. I strive to fully understand the industries and the needs of my client to ensure every opportunity I bring to them is worthwhile.

I am also a team player and enjoy working at MBC because every day brings a new opportunity for me to learn and grow. Through our teams at MBC, we are able to function as a cohesive unit to serve our clients and ensure the client and the bank mitigate as much risk as possible. We work together to ensure our business is growing and that we are supporting our clients through the ups and downs of their business.

As I have grown in my career, I have also had the chance to mentor younger associates as they work to find their path to success. I have been fortunate with my mentors in the past, and I believe it is important to pass knowledge on to the next generation. I make myself available and accessible for several younger associates to ensure they feel supported and that help is never far away.

How would you define what a good leader is, and what can you do to reflect those characteristics as you progress in your career?

My definition of a good leader is someone who leads by example. Like many people, I learned a lot of lessons while playing sports. I was fortunate enough to play soccer at Xavier University. There, my coach constantly reminded our team that our actions impacted our reputation, regardless of whether we were in the spotlight or in the background. He pushed us to always to do our best and ensure we were leaving a legacy we would be proud to broadcast to the public.

I have seen this lesson play out in my career as I have grown and taken on new challenges. When I first started at MBC, my role quickly shifted and I was thrust into a new situation full of opportunity.

At the time, underwriting was a new challenge for me, and with this new position, I had to learn on the job, ask questions and seek advice from others. This allowed me to build trusting relationships throughout the organization, which ultimately lead to more opportunities in my career. As I learned from those around me, I was able to put their advice into practice and lead by example as I progressed at Marquette Business Credit. To me, serving as a leader means stepping up and doing what is needed to provide the best opportunities for the client and the bank to grow.