Credit Risk Analyst – Merchant & Ecosystems Specialist

JOB PURPOSE STATEMENT

The primary purpose of this role is evaluation and structuring of financial risk processes for Merchant & Ecosystem products including ensuring quality appraisals of credit applications across the LDFS Group through performing research and due diligence activities in partnership with LDFS Line of Business (LOB) executives, data science unit and partners. This includes reviewing and screening potential market, partnership and product structures and strategic collaboration opportunities in partnership with and on behalf of LOB Sponsors.

The role holder is responsible for driving quality lending margins by evaluating financial and credit risk proposals and making recommendations that influence business decisions that align with the LDFS Business Model, Risk Appetite and Business objectives, and will be responsible for making decisions on SME and Ecosystems lending proposals as per delegated authority, and in line with the Credit Risk Management policy and the SME Product Guideline.

Subject Matter Expert in credit risk underwriting process design and assessment techniques in a highly digital and data driven environment, market research and financial risk management and will assist Senior Manager to guide other LDFS Units in their roles and responsibilities in a manner that optimizes risk margins.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES (DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES)

Financial (10%)

• Proactive management of Cost of Risk by ensuring that they are maintained at the prescribed and budgeted level (Quality of portfolio - Maintain PAR/ NPL & impairment charge within set metrics) through prudent lending practices and monitoring of Early Warning Signs
• Minimize the risk of loss/ bad debts through prudent lending practices and monitoring of Early Warning Signs on financial and credit risk portfolios
• Improvement in business returns through minimization of revenue leakage, maximizing revenue from existing/new customers and partners and share of wallet thereon or identification of additional revenue opportunities through deal structuring and due diligence; and offering appropriate products, customer experiences, operations, collections and recoveries and rehabilitation journeys.
• Obtain and review appropriate and timely MIS on exceptions and loans in arrears for purposes of pro-actively managing exposures with minimal loss to the business. This will include periodical reviews with Business Leads for purposes of reviewing controls or facilitating exit of risk as appropriate.
• Establish and review risk tolerance thresholds based on LDFS strategy and Risk Appetite, manage and escalate exceptions to guard the bank against unacceptable credit losses arising from breach of KRIs
• Monitoring covenant compliance and account performance to ensure risk stays within agreed thresholds.
• Management of unit costs to ensure that these are maintained within set budgets/targets
• Identify, cross-sell, and exploit available opportunities that will translate to increased business and revenue growth.

Internal business processes (50%)

• Conduct quality appraisals using a range of criteria including and not limited to the applicants business and financial records, credit history, bank records, tax returns and other credit-related data, stress-tested in the context of the operating (political, economic, social, technological / digital, legal / regulatory and environmental) landscape to ascertain the risk involved in extending credit and the ability of the applicant to repay, and make recommendations on the nature, structure and terms of the loan or line of credit that will protect Loop DFS’s ability to recoup funds loaned at a profit based on the applicants credit score and credit worthiness.
• Conduct due diligence on strategic markets, partnerships, companies, industries, merchants and consumers by collecting, researching and interpreting financial statements and market data such as company financial statements, price developments, currency adjustments, macro developments and yield fluctuations
• Design, develop and implement bespoke financial risk processes including financial models for decision support.
• Design, automate and champion implementation of customized risk processes, customer journeys and terms of engagement for partnerships, consumer and merchant customers.
• Keep up to date with market developments, new investment products and all other areas that can affect the markets, e.g. movements in the economies of relevant countries
• Research and consider how the economic implications of factors such as natural disasters, weather and wars might affect the performance of the financial portfolios. Proper Environmental and Social Monitoring (E&S) & reporting.
• Obtain required input from LOB Sponsors on key issues; facilitating approvals and deal closure
• Draft and write advisory reports for LOB Executives and other relevant stakeholders; this might include summaries of research, investment ideas, key risks or events as well as key drivers and projections
• Make recommendations to LOB Executives, being able to position ideas and articulate to the Executives about the risk or payoff for each recommendation
• Ensure that all regulatory and compliance requirements are met.
• SLA adherence by all stakeholders and adherence to agreed turnaround times
• Robust Covenant Monitoring to ensure that all approved covenants are captured and tracked constantly
• Regular review of business to determine applicability and suitability within the ever changing Digital Business Lending environment
• Enhance a digital first Financial & credit risk workflow process by championing continuous improvements
• Use of qualitative and quantitative analytics to assess risk and identify opportunities that will influence policy and process formulation.
• Interact directly and maintain good rapport with Business teams and customers teams to deeply understand their business models while protecting LDFS’ interests and following compliance protocols
• Recognize and escalate decisions to the Senior Manager when required as per underwriting policy
• Perform financial forecasting, variance analysis, reporting, and operational metrics tracking, and make recommendations
• Guide the cost analysis process by establishing and enforcing policies and procedures
• Regular stakeholder training and capacity development
• Satisfactory Audit/Risk and compliance rating on data driven models and underwriting processes

Customer (30%)

• Work in close collaboration with the Business Teams to achieve the following for assigned portfolios:
  • Support New Business initiatives & proposals for incorporation into product programs
  • Engage Business partners in regular asset quality reviews with provision of analytics insights to identify risks/ opportunities and recommend relevant actions
  • Support review of credit policies, scorecards and program risk acceptance criteria regularly, with analytical insights of portfolio trends & performance
• Monitor key portfolio performance trends to ensure strong portfolio credit quality with a good balance of risk and reward to optimize Business opportunities and in line with business strategy and risk appetite.
• Support scorecard monitoring and analysis; involve in the scorecard development, back testing as well as validation of the score cut-off.
• Participate in digital initiatives and drive continuous improvements in analytics capabilities using both traditional and non-traditional data as well as enhancements in the use of risk analytics tools.

Learning and Development (10%)

• Staff growth through coaching and training - clearly identified training needs, leave and succession planning.
• Self-development and training - Participation in learning opportunities both on-the job and classroom trainings available through the learning academy.

JOB SPECIFICATIONS

Academic:

• University degree preferably in a Business-Related field (Commerce, Business Administration, Economics, Mathematics & Statistics and Finance).
• Proficiency and Practical experience in credit underwriting, financial modelling, data analytics and use of relevant MIS, BI & MS Office applications. Knowledge in statistical computer languages e.g. SQL, R, Python is an added advantage.
• Professional Qualifications such as ACCA, CPA, CIFA, AKIB etc will be an added advantage.
• Strong IT skills and experience with office automation tools.

Desired work experience:

• 5 years banking experience with at least 3 years covering credit appraisals, credit portfolio management, risk management and business analysis/informatics.
• Experience working with credit scoring models/ credit decision engines is desired
• Experience working in a highly automated environment.

JOB COMPETENCIES

Technical Competencies

• Broad based working /operational knowledge of banking and credit underwriting (breadth and depth). Certification in multiple areas of credit risk management and/or banking support services. Reference point and mentor for colleagues, partners, for areas of expertise – Subject matter expert in business/corporate credit risk underwriting in a highly automated environment.
• Skilled at qualitative internal and external stakeholder interviewing and engagement.
• Excellent at deriving key insights and patterns from stakeholder interviews and using that input to identify gaps and clarify problem statements.
• Skilled at risk identification, mapping, to break gaps down into quantifiable KRIs.
• Excellent at collaborating with Customer, Product, Tech and Process flow Design to bring potential risk management solutions to life.
• Candid knowledge of the financial sector and risk management guidelines as well as current banking and fintech operations practice.
• Excellent at breaking issues down into risk points within product and process flow design.
• Deep familiarity with Loop DFS digital products and the relevant business processes
• Excellent use case and requirements development skills.
• Able to elevate performance of the Group through excellent ORM outputs.
• A good understanding of all core processes and knowledge of regulatory and statutory requirements.
• Strong financial modelling, analytical and problem-solving skills with an emphasis on data science and risk management.
• Experience working with and ideation and creation of data architectures.
• Knowledge of a variety of machine learning techniques (clustering, decision tree learning, artificial neural networks, etc.) and their real-world advantages/drawbacks.
• Knowledge of advanced statistical techniques and concepts (regression, properties of distributions, statistical tests, Poisson distribution and proper usage, etc.) and experience with applications.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills for coordinating cross functional teams.
• Proficiency in ISO 9001 2015 is highly desired in regards to Quality Management System.

Behavioural Competencies

• Excellent planning and organizational skills with ability to breakdown complex items to actionable elements.
• Relate easily and naturally with executives, business managers, technical teams and customers. Has excellent listening skills and understands the desires and challenges of all our leaders and customers.
• Able to change plans, methods, opinions or goals in light of new information, with the readiness to act on opportunities. Highly effective in adapting to differing environments.
• Capable of developing a sound understanding of the motives, needs and concerns of others and develop a deep understanding of their complex stakeholder network. Can anticipate the motives and expectations of others effectively.
• Self-motivated and self-managing.