Credit Risk Analyst

The National Bank of Kuwait is active in Europe through a fully owned subsidiary established in France in 2019 with a view to capture investment and trade flows between Kuwait and Europe and provide Kuwait investors access to the European markets for short- and long-term investments.

In terms of products and markets, it materializes in a core focus on providing prime commercial and residential real estate financing to wealthy customers and large real estate sponsors, as well as offering wholesale banking products to highly rated European corporates (short and medium-term financing, letters of credit, letters of guarantee), especially for their supply contracts or projects in the MENA area. National Bank of Kuweit France (NBKF)’s business consists in 4 main activities: Consumer Banking, Corporate Banking & Financial Institutions, Commercial Real Estate and Treasury.

The NBKF risk department is a second line of defense function and is made up of credit risk, operational risk, enterprise risk management, including solvency, liquidity and market risks, level 2 permanent control and information security.

Within the credit risk department, the credit risk analyst is responsible for assessing, monitoring and reporting credit risk arising from the bank’s lending and counterparty activities, ensuring that exposures remain within the Bank’s risk appetite and comply with applicable regulatory requirements.

Key Responsibilities & Accountabilities of the Role

• Provide credit committee with an independent opinion on credit applications submitted by business units, including analysis of the borrower’s credit worthiness and the facility’s terms and conditions
• Ensure credit applications complies with the bank’s risk appetite and credit granting criteria
• Review and challenge the proposed internal credit risk ratings
• Monitor the portfolio quality by reporting on sensitive exposures (NPL, Watch List, past dues, Forbearance)
• Contribute to the development and enhancement of credit risk methodologies, policies and procedures
• Support the credit risk department in permanent control of its processes
• Support the credit risk department in the preparation, conduct and minuting of the Credit Committee
• Contribute to other tasks as may be assigned from time to time by the Head of Credit Risk

Qualification & Experience

• Degree in Finance, Business Administration, Banking, Risk Management or equivalent
• 3 to 5 years of relevant experience in credit risk analysis within a bank or financial institution; candidates from a business background (e.g. corporate banking, relationship management) with solid credit exposure will also be considered
• Practical and end-to-end familiarity with the credit process – financial/counterparty analysis, credit file and committee documentation, exposure monitoring – and basic knowledge of the applicable regulatory and provisioning frameworkAbility to adapt to working in a multi-cultural environment
• Highly efficient, team player, with good attention to detail, accuracy and eye for market research and following industry trends pertaining to bank’s portfolio
• Ability to work pro-actively and autonomously to tight deadlines and to withstand occasionally high pressure demands
• Willingness to go the extra miles when necessary to support the team
• Ability to work efficiently within a small local organization within a larger international Group, ability to be adaptable within working environment, and to demonstrate entrepreneurial capacities
• Accuracy and high level of numeracy in relation to Corporate financial analysis, skilled at spreadsheets; financial modeling experience would be appreciated
• Excellent communication skills, ability to communicate with people at all levels, including senior management
• A structured approach to credit analysis with strong ability to articulate credit judgment both verbally and in writing

Skills

• Financial / credit analysis skills
• Solid understanding of credit risk management and banking products (retail, corporate, FI, and real estate)
• Good awareness of financial markets, industry sectors, macroeconomic and political developments
• Familiarities with ESG and climate-related factors for credit risk and collateral assessment
• Fluent in both English and French (speaking and writing)
• Comfortable working with Microsoft Office (Excel, Word, PowerPoint)
• Experience with S&P Capital IQ (or equivalent ratings/market data platform)