Reporting to the Head of Market, Liquidity and SME Risk, this role responsible for leading the credit underwriting function, exercising high-level delegated lending authority, and defining the risk appetite for SME products. This role focuses on the end-to-end credit assessment and sanctioning of complex SME transactions.
Job Responsibilities:
- Deliver superior financial performance while minimizing potential losses
- Develop and maintain the credit risk policies and procedures for the SME portfolio
- Perform deep-dive credit reviews of individual high-value obligors to identify early warning signals
- Work with the Models Development team to develop SME models
- Help optimise NPL rate / approval rate / cost to acquire / customer experience trade-off
- Work with the SME business function to ensure adequate risk assessment of new products and programs (as well as test programs)
- Exercise a significant Delegated Lending Authority (DLA) to approve or decline SME credit applications.
- Act as the credit approver with delegated approval for low to medium-complexity cases in SME financing including Invoice, Purchase Order, and Property-backed financing
- Negotiate and structure credit facilities with Business Units to balance risk-reward, rather than just monitoring NPL rates.
- Develop and oversee the credit assessment framework, including the design of Credit Memorandums and financial analysis standards SME portfolio.
- Conduct any independent or thematic review as required.
- Define roles and responsibilities for the team, and maintain inventory of critical roles.
- Define and monitor key activities related to SME credit risk management and monitoring
- Assist in regulatory and business stress tests on an ongoing basis.
- Keep abreast of the regulatory landscape in Singapore particularly on economic outcomes, global economic impacts and regulatory changes related to financial institutions.
- Develop metrics and reporting dashboards for leadership.
Requirements:
- 10-15 years of work experience in the Singapore Micro and Small Enterprises spaces (companies with SGD 1-100-Million Turnover) with strong credentials in the SGD1-25Million Turnover segment.
- Proven experience in Underwriting cases under Delegated Authority; Must have a proven track record of holding and exercising a personal Delegated Lending Authority in the Singapore SME Banking / Financing space
- Demonstrated ability to make independent credit decisions and defend risk positions to senior management or credit committees
- Good understanding of the Singapore economy and economic trends impacting local SMEs
- Tertiary degree in related fields, degree in quantitative fields will be an added advantage
- Good understanding of SME products (Invoice, Purchase Order, Hire Purchase, Property backed, pure Working Capital)
- Experience in implementing the three lines of defense concepts and its application related to corporate credit policy and portfolio management
- Experience with risk identification, assessment, and mitigation of material risk
- Experience with risk models and the governance process
- Ability to translate observations of market trends in SME products and SME credit risk
- Experience with risk models and ideally ML / Artificial intelligence models
- Possess strong influencing, communication, and presentation skills.
- Confident, able to work independently and possess the gravitas and relationship skills to challenge decisions made by senior stakeholders.
