This week on The Credit Bubble, I sat down with Charles Thor for a conversation that covers the full arc of a banking career—from early days in a commercial banking training program to leading credit decisions at scale.
We start with Charles’s foundation at Union Bank, where learning to underwrite real businesses created an early framework for thinking about risk. From there, we move into his time with MUFG in Singapore, where he navigated cross-border lending, large multinational clients, and the realities of operating inside a global bank.
The conversation then shifts to Silicon Valley Bank, where Charles transitioned from the deal side into the credit seat—offering a candid perspective on what actually changes when you’re the one making the decision.
We spend time unpacking how credit gets structured in practice, how institutional incentives shape outcomes, and why collaboration between deal teams and credit is often the difference between getting a deal done—or not.
We close with one of the more practical takeaways from the episode: Charles’s “User Guide,” a simple but effective framework for how he approaches communication, expectations, and decision-making as a credit officer.
If you’re building a career in banking—or just want a clearer view into how credit decisions actually get made—this is a worthwhile listen.
