Corporate Credit Analyst

Job Description

To provide quantitative and qualitative assessments of the current and forecast financial strength of a portfolio of corporate clients with the aim to identify portfolio related credit risks

Responsibilities:

The successful candidate will have the following responsibilities:

• Assess financial transactions, which include(s) an assessment of products (i.e. derivatives) and structures used.
• Assess counterparty credit risk, which includes the following:
• Assessment or understanding of the operating environment (i.e. country, industry, regulatory and legal risk) and how it impacts the risk profile of the counterparty.
• Spreading and modelling of financial statements.
• Analysing and interpreting financial statements.
• Quantitative and qualitative assessment to identify and quantify the financial and business risks of the counterparty.
• Assign credit ratings to counterparties by using internally approved rating methodologies and models.
• Write credit reports and prepare credit applications and financial models to be presented to the relevant committees.
• Present credit applications and reports to various credit committees and forums.
• Monitor financial covenants and financial risks for credit reporting.
• Ongoing evaluation and monitoring of counterparties and facilities.
• Ongoing monitoring and management of portfolio, which include making 
• recommendations and/or providing input to further develop the bank’s lending policy.
• Liaise with various business units, divisions and subsidiaries within the FirstRand Banking Group.
• Interact with clients.

Qualifications and Experience:

The ideal candidate must have:

• A tertiary education with a financial background, with a minimum Second-Class Upper division or equivalent
• At least 5 years of credit analysis experience, preferably within a large financial institution or five year’s experience in financial markets in a consulting/auditing capacity. 
• Modelling, assessing or advising on financial and business risks should form part of this experience.
• A sound understanding of Treasury and Financial Markets products (i.e., derivatives) is required.

Technical Skills and General Competencies:

• General knowledge of practical economics relating to business, industry and the Nigerian macro-economic environment. 
• Knowledge and understanding of the Companies Act, Commercial Law, legal issues relating to security, exchange control and other relevant legislation or regulatory requirements, including IFRS, Basle II and III.
• Knowledge and understanding of the taxation of companies, financial institutions and shareholders.
• Good understanding of financial instruments products (i.e., derivatives) and markets.
• A good understanding of credit ratings, portfolio theory and credit pricing.

Key Competencies:

General

Ability to quickly gain proficiency in the following areas:

• Develop an in-depth knowledge of specific operating environments (i.e., country, industry, regulatory and legal risk) and how it could impact on the risk profile of the counterparty and specific transactions.
• Develop an in-depth knowledge of specific sectors and clients as part of a specific industry research team.
• Assessing financial transactions, which include derivatives and other product structures in order to identify.
• Credit and other risks pertaining to vanilla and exotic derivative structures.
• Identifying transaction specific risks including credit, taxation, accounting, legal and exchange control pertaining to transactions.
• Assessing counterparty credit risk.
• Introducing risk mitigating measures as input to transactions in line with the risk philosophy of the Bank.
• A good understanding of the Bank’s credit risk appetite, credit grading and credit pricing models.
• A general understanding of trends in the global lending market with a view to providing input into the bank wide lending policy development process.
• Human Relations Profile
• Strong character & integrity paramount.
• High degree of self-confidence; pleasant personality; well presented.
• Well organized / good time management skills / disciplined/ detail orientated. 
• Self-starter able to work with minimal supervision.
• Flexible when necessary and ability to work effectively under pressure.
• Strong work ethic and able to operate in a fast-changing environment (building a business).
• Excellent communication skills (i.e., verbal, writing and presentation skills).
• Ability to work with a team and/or independently.