Credit Risk Analyst

About Us: Zenith Bank (UK) Limited (ZBUK) is a subsidiary of Zenith Bank PLC, the most profitable bank in Nigeria with an established trajectory of superlative performance, as well a strong pedigree of innovation, resilience, and market dominance. On an annual basis, Zenith Bank PLC amasses a string of notable awards; one of the most recent being listed as the sole Nigerian brand on the World’s top 100 companies in 2023 by the World Finance Magazine. Zenith Bank (UK) Limited (ZBUK) was set up with a clear strategy to leverage trade and investment flows between Nigeria and Europe, by providing intermediary banking services and facilities for trade-related working capital and capital expenditure. Zenith Bank recognizes the importance of leveraging a highly skilled workforce to achieve its strategic and operational goals. The bank is committed to providing an environment that is conducive for effective performance by availing all staff the necessary learning opportunity. We value the well-being of our staff and we encourage them to strike a balance between their work and personal lives, thereby creating a healthy atmosphere for personal development and career success. With the introduction of new services here in the UK and our unparalleled knowledge of business with Africa, our 5 year strategy ensures “Controlled Growth” as we aim to become the Bank of choice for businesses wishing to transact in the African continent.

Key Responsibilities:

• Analysis of new and review credit proposals for corporates, banks and sovereigns as 2nd Line of Defence; prepare Independent Credit Assessment for Management Credit Committee and support day to day excess / unauthorised activity controls.
• Support the team effort to manage daily limits, collateral and flow of drawdown requests.
• Support Risk Management in upgrading credit risk policies, processes and controls.
• Critically assess existing procedures, identify control gaps / weaknesses and suggest ahead of implementing practical solutions.
• Independently assess and challenge (as 2nd line of defence) credit applications for a variety of counterparties including corporates, banks and sovereigns.
• Analyse financial information such as annual reports, management accounts and cash flow statements and provide thorough assessment of credit worthiness and appropriateness of ratings.
• Facilitate drawdown requests, daily limit reports, collateral and excess / unauthorised activity management.
• Identify and follow up on day to day account controls with respective managers.
• Perform periodic reviews of existing non-bank, bank and country credit counterparties.
• Work closely with Risk Administration team regarding loan documentation and other workflow matters.
• Assist in the management of all necessary documentation involved in the credit application and the documenting of facilities.
• Suggest and implement better credit risk assessment metrics and techniques.
• Communicate the Bank’s Strategy with the 1st Line of Defence and give clear credit advice aligned to the Strategy.
• Assisting with wider up-skilling of credit knowledge across both 1st Line of Defence and Credit Risk teams, by developing, preparing and conducting relevant training and workshops.
• Produce management information and reports for EXCO, Management Credit Committee, Board Risk Committee, and the Board.
• Assist the Manager in the analysis of KRIs to identify areas of risk in the operating environment and work with Market and Operational Risk to ensure that appropriate action is taken.
• Assist the Finance Department through the validation of External Ratings for IFRS9 calculations and ECL.

Additional responsibilities:

• Supporting the Manager, Credit Risk and Documentation and the Chief Risk Officer where necessary including ECL returns.
• Providing relief across Credit Risk during any absences.
• Keep up to date with industry best practice, key market developments (including Nigeria) and regulatory developments.
• Proactively develop ‘Identification and monitoring’ on all aspects of Credit Risk.
• Complying with the FCA/PRA’s Individual Conduct Rules, as outlined below.
• To “live” the values of the Bank and be a valuable team member.

Skills Required:

• ACCA/CIMA qualified, CFA finalist, Master of Credit Risk or equivalent are all advantageous qualifications.
• Credit risk trained and have prior analytical experience (>5yrs).
• Knowledge of legal, compliance, accounting and market-risk related issues involved in the approval of credit.
• Knowledge of domestic Nigerian/ Ghanaian markets and of other sub-Saharan African markets is desirable.
• Able to communicate credit assessment challenges confidently with Senior Management including at the Management Credit Committee level.
• Experience or exposure to working in a Trade Finance environment.
• Driven, ambitious, self-starter who can grasp a concept quickly and deliver a reasoned investigation and analysis.
• Strong understanding of the control environment and operating within it.
• Strong communication and presentation skills.
• Good understanding of current AML/KYC requirements.
• Good IT skills - Microsoft Office package.

This is a 9 Month FTC position, paying up to £70,000 based on experience.