Vice President, Section Head of Agency Operations - SMBC

Headquartered in Tokyo, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) is a leading global financial institution and a core member of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (SMBC Group). Built upon our rich Japanese heritage since 1876, we put our customers first and provide seamless access to, from and within the Asia Pacific region. SMBC is one of the largest Japanese banks by assets and maintain strong credit ratings across our global integrated network. We work closely as one SMBC Group to offer personal, corporate and investment banking services to meet the needs of our customers.

With sustainability embedded within our strategy and operations, we are committed to creating a society in which today's generation can enjoy economic prosperity and well-being, and pass it on to future generations.

Role Overview

The Section Head of Agency Operations is responsible for end-to-end leadership, control, and performance of the Agency Operations team, ensuring accurate and timely execution of all syndicated loan agency activities. The role carries full accountability for business-as-usual (BAU) delivery, operational risk management, people leadership, and continuous improvement. This requires hands-on oversight, including acting as BAU checker, to ensure all deliverables are executed accurately, on time, and to the highest professional standards.

This role is expected to transition the team from a task-based execution unit to a well-controlled, standardized, and scalable operation.

Responsibilities

Operational Leadership & BAU Oversight

• Lead and oversee all syndicated loan agency activities, including drawdowns, rollovers, repayments, interest and fee settlements, notices, covenant monitoring, and record maintenance.
• Actively perform BAU checker responsibilities, reviewing and authorizing transactions and outputs to ensure accuracy, completeness, and compliance with loan documentation and policies.
• Ensure all deliverables are completed in a timely, professional, and highest-quality manner, meeting agreed service standards.
• Serve as the senior escalation point for complex transactions and operational issues.

Risk, Control & Governance

• Maintain strong end-to-end operational controls, including robust maker-checker discipline.
• Own and manage operational risk, including incident management, root cause analysis, and remediation.
• Lead interactions with internal audit, regulators, and external review parties, ensuring findings are addressed promptly and effectively.

People Leadership

• Lead, coach, and develop a team of agency operations professionals.
• Set clear performance expectations and drive a culture of accountability, quality, and ownership.
• Build team capability and succession depth to support operational continuity and growth.

Stakeholder & Client Management

• Work closely with internal partners such as front office, credit, legal, risk, compliance, finance, and technology teams.
• Engage with borrowers, participant banks, and external agents to support smooth execution of agency responsibilities.
• Uphold the bank's reputation as a trusted and reliable facility agent.

Process Improvement & Change

• Drive process standardization, efficiency, and automation across agency operations.
• Support system enhancements and change initiatives, ensuring controlled and stable implementation.

Requirements

• Degree in Business Administration, Banking & Finance, or related discipline.
• Significant hands-on experience in syndicated loan agency administration within a bank and strong prior experience of at least 10 years.
• Prior experience managing or supervising teams in an operations environment is highly preferred.

• Strong understanding of the loan lifecycle and facility agent responsibilities.
• Strong ability to interpret and apply complex loan documentation.
• Familiarity with loan operational tools (e.g. SWIFT).
• Strong risk awareness, problem-solving capability, and attention to detail.

• Confident people leader with the ability to influence, coach, and hold the team accountable.
• Able to balance control and efficiency in a high-volume, deadline-driven environment.
• Clear communicator with strong interpersonal skills across seniority levels.
• Resilient, pragmatic, and solutions-oriented.