Standard Chartered—Head, Credit Risk Review, Specialised Finance

Job description

Description: Job Summary • This is a senior leadership role responsible for independent, technical and forward-looking assessments over the credit quality, risk governance and control environment of the Group’s Specialized Finance portfolios globally. • The role will exercise independent challenge and escalation authority in accordance with the Credit Risk Review mandate, while preserving clear separation from first-line credit and business decision-making. The individual is expected to undertake independent reviews that provide insights into actionable strategic and business outcomes. This includes informing decisions on Specialized Finance growth, risk appetite, sector and country concentrations, capital deployment, hold levels and distribution strategy; identifying emerging and systemic risks; influencing improvements to underwriting, structuring and portfolio management; and ensuring that material weaknesses are addressed through timely and sustainable remediation. • The role provides senior management, risk committees and relevant regulators with an independent assessment of Specialized Finance underwriting, structuring, portfolio quality, risk appetite alignment, lifecycle monitoring and problem-credit management. • This will be achieved through Business Credit Application and portfolio reviews covering project finance, sponsor finance, private credit, CRE, infrastructure and power, natural resources, transportation (shipping/aviation), export finance, structured asset finance and other asset-backed or cash-flow-based lending, with principal focus on Credit Risk and its interaction with ESG, climate and country risks. • Business Risk Assessment - independently assess whether the Specialized Finance strategy, sector appetite, origination model, delegated authorities, specialist capabilities, data and portfolio management arrangements support an appropriate balance of risk and return. Provide independent overview and assurance with regards balancing risk and return through objective assessment of the Portfolio Risk Profile, Governance and Risk Management Enablers (Skills, Infrastructure, data quality) Business Risk Assessment - • Portfolio Assessment - assess individual credits and portfolio concentrations from origination, operations, refinancing, restructuring and exit, including risk rating, expected loss, collateral and recovery assumptions. • Process Assessment - independently assess end-to-end Specialized Finance credit processes and governance against risk appetite, sector standards, Group policies, delegated authorities, regulatory expectations and recognized financing practices. Key Responsibilities Strategy Maintain awareness of the Group’s Specialized Finance strategy and assess whether growth priorities, sector and country concentrations, tenor, leverage, distribution assumptions and originate-to-distribute activity remain aligned with approved risk appetite. Specifically the role requires: • Act as the independent senior authority for Specialized Finance Credit Risk Review, with access to relevant senior management, information and governance forums and the authority to escalate material portfolio, underwriting, risk appetite or control concerns in accordance with the Credit Risk Review mandate. • Provide forward-looking, evidence-based insights to inform Specialized Finance strategy, sector and country appetite, portfolio limits, growth priorities, capital deployment, hold levels, distribution strategy and risk-mitigation decisions. • Identify emerging and systemic risks across Specialized Finance sectors, structures and jurisdictions, assess their potential portfolio impact and recommend appropriate strategic responses, including changes to risk appetite, underwriting standards, concentration limits, monitoring intensity or review coverage. • Assess whether strategic growth objectives remain supportable under downside conditions and whether the balance between risk, return, capital consumption, concentration and distribution is sustainable. • Provide independent challenge on whether Specialized Finance strategy is being executed within approved risk appetite and whether material deviations, emerging vulnerabilities or unintended portfolio concentrations are identified and addressed promptly. Business • Understand the strategic intent and collective agenda for Specialized Finance globally, including the interaction between client strategy, sector franchises, sustainability objectives, capital allocation, hold levels and distribution strategy. • Maintain deep knowledge of the macroeconomic, sector, commodity, construction, operating, demand, technology, legal, political and sovereign conditions affecting the bankability and resilience of Specialized Finance transactions. • Assess portfolio vulnerability to interest-rate, foreign-exchange, inflation, commodity-price, volume, merchant-price and refinancing shocks, including correlation and concentration effects. Understand the accounting, capital, impairment and distribution implications of complex and long-dated Specialized Finance exposures. • Maintain expert capability in project and structured finance credit analysis, cash-flow modelling, contractual risk allocation, technical due diligence, ESG and climate risk, security and intercreditor structures, and distressed-asset management. • Translate transaction-level, portfolio and thematic review findings into business-wide conclusions, identifying root causes, portfolio read-across, emerging trends and opportunities to improve origination, structuring, approval, monitoring and problem-credit management. • Influence improvements to business and risk practices through credible challenge, clear recommendations and effective engagement with Specialized Finance, Credit Risk, Portfolio Management, Distribution and Special Assets stakeholders, while maintaining the independence of Credit Risk Review. • Promote consistent application of risk appetite, underwriting standards, delegated authorities and lifecycle controls across sectors and geographies, and drive timely remediation where practices do not meet the required standard. • Use review outcomes to strengthen portfolio resilience, improve the quality of credit decisions, enhance early identification and escalation of adverse trends, and reduce the recurrence of material credit or control weaknesses. • Ensure that material review findings result in clear management ownership, proportionate corrective actions and sustainable improvements to business practices, governance, data, systems or controls. • Provide portfolio-level insights that allow management to distinguish isolated transaction weaknesses from systemic or thematic issues requiring broader business intervention. Processes • Ensure effective management of the operational risks within the Function and compliance with applicable internal policies, and external laws and regulations. • Contribute to enhance Specialized Finance review methodologies, transaction selection, sector scorecards, model review techniques, portfolio analytics and thematic review capabilities. • Ensure that all work undertaken as a member of the Credit Risk Review function is delivered to the highest standards and within agreed budgets each year. • Develop and maintain risk-based review programmes covering the full financing lifecycle, material sectors, higher-risk jurisdictions, emerging technologies, underwriting exceptions, refinancing risk and portfolio concentrations. • Lead the planning, fieldwork, credit file assessment, model challenge, stakeholder engagement and reporting of Specialized Finance reviews to deliver approved objectives. • Apply differentiated review approaches for greenfield, brownfield, acquisition, portfolio, reserve-based, borrowing-base, lease-backed, export-credit-supported and public-private partnership structures. • Validate that independent technical, market, environmental and social, insurance, legal, tax and model advice has been appropriately scoped, challenged and reflected in credit decisions. • Where specialist or guest reviewers are used, integrate legal, engineering, insurance, ESG, valuation, modelling and sector expertise into a coherent credit risk conclusion and provide technical coaching to the review team. • Identify and escalate material weaknesses in transaction bankability, risk allocation, due diligence, model integrity, monitoring, covenant management, rating accuracy, concentration management or remedial strategy, and ensure actions are tracked to sustainable closure. People & Talent • Provide leadership by independently directing Specialized Finance reviews, coaching reviewers to challenge complex structures and models, chairing technical roundtables, engaging senior stakeholders and producing concise, evidence-based reports. • Uphold and reinforce the independence of the Credit Risk Review team from those whose primary responsibility is to maximise short-term revenues and profits. • Build a sustainable Specialized Finance reviewer capability covering project economics, financial modelling, contracts, security, construction and operational monitoring, ESG and climate, restructuring and recovery analysis. • Maintain an appropriate mix of credit, sector, engineering, legal, modelling and restructuring expertise within the review team and use external or guest specialists where required. • Lead through example and build the appropriate culture and values within the Credit Risk Review function and across the wider Assurance organization. Risk Management • Undertake detailed credit reviews from origination through exit, assessing sponsor quality and support, project economics, sources and uses, leverage, cash-flow resilience, contractual allocation of construction and operating risks, security, covenants, reserve accounts, cash waterfalls and refinancing assumptions. • Challenge base-case, downside and reverse-stress scenarios, including construction delay, cost overrun, completion failure, ramp-up, availability, volume, tariff, price, operating cost, interest-rate, foreign-exchange, tax, regulatory and refinancing sensitivities, and assess impact on DSCR, LLCR, PLCR, debt capacity and recovery. • Assess conditions precedent and subsequent, drawdown controls, completion tests, sponsor equity funding, contingency adequacy, covenant compliance, waivers, consent management, reserve funding and distribution lock-up mechanisms. • Review the accuracy and timeliness of internal risk ratings, probability of default, loss given default, expected loss, collateral values and recovery assumptions in light of transaction structure and changing risk conditions. • Assess problem-credit identification and remedial strategy, including standstill, restructuring, additional sponsor support, enforcement, asset sale, refinancing and recovery pathways. • Provide an independent assessment of Specialized Finance credit governance, delegated authorities, underwriting standards, exception approval, model governance, due diligence, documentation, monitoring and escalation against Group requirements and relevant regulatory expectations. • Execute the Credit Risk Review programme for Specialized Finance and ensure that portfolio, thematic and transaction reviews are delivered in accordance with the approved Terms of Reference and annual risk assessment. • Ensure reviews combine assurance with anticipation by identifying emerging sector, technology, climate, commodity, construction, demand, refinancing and concentration risks before they crystallise, and by driving credible actions through to sustainable closure. • Maintain a strong understanding of external stakeholder expectations for leveraged, long-dated, cross-border and limited-recourse financings, including risk classification, provisioning, concentration management, environmental and social risk, and problem-credit governance. • Maintain an open and cooperative relationship in dealings with regulators. Governance • Assess the effectiveness of global, regional and country governance for Specialized Finance, including sector oversight, delegated authorities, credit committee challenge, exception governance, portfolio limits, concentration monitoring, model governance and watchlist escalation. • Awareness and understanding of the regulatory framework in which the Group operates, and the regulatory requirements and expectations relevant to the role. • Deliver effective governance through credible challenge of senior executives on complex Specialized Finance judgements and maintain open, cooperative engagement with relevant regulators. Regulatory & Business Conduct • Display exemplary conduct and live by the Group’s Valued Behaviours and Code of Conduct. • Take personal responsibility for embedding the highest standards of ethics, including regulatory and business conduct, across Standard Chartered Bank. This includes understanding and ensuring compliance with, in letter and spirit, all applicable laws, regulations, guidelines and the Group Code of Conduct. • Lead the team to achieve the outcomes set out in the Bank’s Conduct Principles: Fair Outcomes for Clients; Effective Operation of Financial Markets; Financial Crime Prevention; and The Right Environment. • Effectively and collaboratively identify, escalate, mitigate and resolve risk, conduct and compliance matters. Report writing • Identify the positive aspects and areas for improvements in businesses, geographies and thematic risk reviews. Identify sound practices and improvement opportunities across Specialized Finance sectors, geographies, products and transaction-lifecycle stages. • Provide constructive, independent and technically grounded feedback on Specialized Finance weaknesses, with proportionate actions addressing root cause, portfolio impact and residual risk. • Ensure reports are timely and succinct while clearly articulating transaction structure, risk drivers, downside implications, portfolio read-across, root cause and required management response. • Evolve continuously in the implementation of rated reports for the reviews Skills and Experience • Credit Risk Competency • Financial Analysis • Specialized Finance management Key stakeholders • Assurance and Credit Risk Review leadership • Global and Regional Heads of Specialized Finance, sector and product teams within CIB Specialized Finance origination, structuring, syndication and distribution, portfolio management, agency, modelling and transaction management teams • Internal legal counsel and external legal, technical, model, market, insurance, tax, valuation, environmental and social advisers • Group and Regional Heads of Audit, Legal, Financial Crime and Compliance, Finance, Operations, HR. • Group, Regional and Country Credit Officers, Specialized Finance credit approvers and portfolio risk teams • Country CEO • Country Heads CIB, client coverage leaders and relevant sector heads • Country Head GM and All GM Head of Sales • Heads of Special Assets Group, restructuring, recoveries and portfolio management • Specialized Finance operations, agency, documentation and non-financial risk teams • Country Head Financial Crime and Compliance • Country Head HR • Country Head Finance • Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and other key regulators • The Group's external auditors Qualifications Education Masters Training Credit Risk -Specialized Finance Certifications Core Credit Languages English