The loan officer at a bank may or may not be the person who welcomes you and takes your loan application. There is nothing truly “official” about the loan officer's role anymore. Particularly at large institutions, it's rare for them to have thumbs-up or down authority in the final decision-making process in whether you'll get the loan or not. Their job is to bring business in the door and do whatever it takes to get business closed.

While some experienced loan officers work up to handling particularly valuable books of business that require close relationships with clients, for the most part, the typical loan officer defers to automated credit models and other bank approval policies as a measurement of how much work they'll actually do to get your loan through.

A person with an above-760 credit score and money in the bank for years is likely to get better service than a new customer with splotchy credit and a desperate outlook. Obviously, in slow times, loan officers may need to work a little harder to close business. That might include extra work on their part to get a certain number of new clients approved, and that's good for people working hard to qualify.

But more than ever, be advised that not all customers are alike. Potential lenders adjust their customer service to the people they want to have as long-term customers, not people desperate to get inside any lender's door.

So much of the credit approval process is automated that it's hard to point to the one person within a banking institution who turns thumbs up or down on your loan. Ask if the person who takes your application will be your main contact or if there will be other people you should call throughout the process. Often, an institution will have a specific person who calls you and shepherds the process. But make sure you get that contact information so you're not bounced around.