If you are interested in this candidate, please contact Simon Blau via email sblau@cerfinancial.co.uk or call on 0207 626 6065.

00357295

PROFILE:

Accomplished Senior Credit Risk Manager with over 30 years’ experience within Wealth Management & Commercial Credit Risk and Risk Oversight. Worked across Global and Offshore Locations, assisting clients from UK/Europe, GCC, Latin America and Asia Pacific. Possess outstanding credit assessment and underwriting skills and extensive knowledge of securities markets, derivatives, real estate financing, investment products and more recently 6 years of Commercial and Asset Finance. Core knowledge of operational risks, legal issues, regulatory frameworks, credit documentation and compliance. Strong stakeholder skills across both internal and external parties at executive level with an ability to assess client requirements and provide effective credit solutions that support client and corporate objectives. Highly adept at implementing and managing change across people, process and policies demonstrating a logical and solutions- based approach to achieve best outcomes.

CAREER HISTORY:

July 2016 – Present

Banking

Head of Credit

Head of Credit and Credit Committee Voting Member since 2016, currently managing a team of 5 reporting directly to the Chief Risk & Compliance Officer and a member of the Senior Leadership Team. I am responsible for the day-to-day Credit business, policy, governance and routines, across all the Banks business units.

I have worked closely with senior leaders to develop and enhance products, establish underwriting guidelines, create a risk rating methodology and utilising my significant credit experience within Wealth Management to assist the Bank in its strategy with a focus on GCC Clients.

Approving, Reviewing, Oversight and structuring transactions within the following areas, Residential Real Estate Investments & Developments, Commercial Real Estate Investment & Development, all Mortgage types and previously Asset Based Finance, Secured Corporate / SME and Commodity Trade Finance.

Control the banks Counterparty Credit Risk Committee who have a SNC mandate of up to £20m, with escalation to Board Credit Committee up to £50m.

Head of Credit responsibilities include:

• Responsible for providing objective and independent Credit Risk expert advice, incl Risk Appetite, Stress Testing and Regulatory Reporting.
• Oversee the management of impaired/distressed assets to achieve optimum recovery, including liaison with relevant external professional advisers, Auditors and business heads.
• Control and responsibility for overseeing re-structures and forbearance cases.
• Collaborative working within the Risk Function across Credit Models, IFRS9, ECL’s, Stress Testing and Climate.
• Responsible for the Group Credit Policy and oversight of the Business Unit Underwriting Guidelines Presentations to Board Credit and Board Risk Committees for Credit Approvals, Portfolio MI and Credit Governance and emerging risks.
• Member of the Banks Commercial Real Estate Investment Committee
• Oversight and Credit responsibility for Group subsidiaries, Country Risks and Financial Institutions.
• Provide quality assurance on all credit risks within business lines
• To manage, coach and train the Credit team, incl Asset Recovery.
• I have a personal delegated authority of £10m for Mortgages and Real Estate
• Material Risk Taker under the Senior Manager and Certification Regime (SMCR)

June 2008 – July 2016

Banking

Director | Credit Risk Manager

As the Director of Credit for a banks Wealth Management, sole responsibility for the oversight and approval of credit and collateral offered to all international clients, across all acceptable client types, including operating companies (SME’s). Point of contact for all Credit Risk related matters within the International Regions, including Complex and Structured Financial Transactions, Country Risk approvals, Margin Calls and Client Jurisdiction’s.

Collateral responsibilities across all asset types including Equity, Debt, Preferred, Exchange/Mutual Funds, Hedge Funds, Guarantee’s/SBLC’s. Credit analysis of individual asset type, including price, liquidity, volatility, country risk, credit ratings and key financial performance data to determine general and client specific lending values.

Member of the International Banks following committees:

- Business Management Committee

- Risk Management Committee and Operational Risk Committee, duties include Risk Oversight for Operational Risk, ICAAP, RCSA, Stress Testing and Scenario Analysis.

• Responsible for the implementation and improvement of the Banks Credit Policy and the updating of said policy as determined by the markets and business strategy. Adherence to Enterprise exposure limits across, Credit, Product, Country and Asset Risks.
• Approval of all clients based Credit Proposals / Submissions for both standard and none-standard type Wealth Management transactions / structures up to USD100MM in exposure. Also recommending, analysing and providing feedback to senior colleagues across the Enterprise, both Business and Risk on all larger transactions.
• Working collaboratively with Lending Sales Managers, to determine client specific lending values and collateral structures that are outside the parameters of the general approval, including concentrated positions of single issuers, higher Lending Values, Country / Sector Risk concentrations of emerging markets, Derivative based transactions and Marine Finance.
• Applied Instinctive thinking together with a solutions-based approach to achieve year on year loan book increases without losses.
• Influenced senior credit executives at the bank to retain and increase exposures to UHNW Individuals in wake of their acquisition of Merrill Lynch. Successfully increased borrowing for key client from USD350MM to USD750MM.
• Identified as a key individual within Risk team to facilitate divestiture and take on board global responsibility for International Credit Risk and support growth of retained jurisdictional business.
• Defined and influenced the banks credit policy after their acquisition of Merrill Lynch resulting in the seamless integration of the International Wealth Management business.
• Recognised as a facilitator who makes transactions happen whilst retaining a control function methodology. Retained out of the divestiture to facilitate the closure of 65% of the credit business whilst growing the remaining 35%.

Additional Responsibilities from 2014 as Risk Ownership on the Divestiture of the banks International Wealth Management

Serve as principal Risk Partner for the divestiture ($92Billion in client assets, over 16,000 clients) of the international wealth management business to external buyer. Functions include:

• Risk assessment and monitoring of overall divestiture risk health; represent business risk in the divestiture’s Steering Committee and Separation Committee; development of risk scorecards and points-of-view in coordination with Enterprise Risk.
• Part of the triumvirate of Legal/Risk/Compliance Governance forum to assess the disposition of accounts not migrating to buyer.
• Primary escalation point for any risk questions/issues raised across all 19 work streams for the divestiture, incl. Operations, Client / Trust on-boarding, Books & Records, Legal & Compliance and Data Integrity.
• Developed process and strategy to achieve a strong and accomplished account closure routine. Managed directly the closure or relocation of 24,000 accounts across multiple jurisdictions and platforms whilst protecting the Bank. All accounts successfully dealt with.
• Implemented new reporting to fully satisfy external regulator’s requirements to be kept informed of business divestiture. Participated and led Risk communications during quarterly review meetings.

October 2001 - June 2008

Banking

Associate Director, Wealth Management, Credit Risk Control Credit Officer

• Provide feedback, solutions and recommendations to client problems whilst ensuring bank systems and processes are appropriate to mitigate key risks. The role encompassed Credit Advisory, Structuring and Approval.
• Delivery of structured, outside policy, credit transactions for both Global and UK Domestic division of the banks, incl Mortgages, Over the Counter Derivatives, SWAPS, Single Security Lending, and Hedge Fund Portfolio’s.
• Prime responsibility for risk assessment and recommendation of approval for UBS AG Private Equity and Property Fund investments, where liquidity facilities are offered against client and institutional commitments. This includes lending directly to Property and Private Equity Funds.
• Delegated management responsibility for an Offshore Branch of the bank for all credit risk issues, including request, monitoring and change management. Excellent knowledge of cross border transactions worldwide gained from dealing in this location.
• Analysis of corporate entities, both private and public, to ensure solvency and liquidity when providing collateralised lending facilities to these companies. Skills learnt through the Pimley training courses.

March 1997 - September 2001

Banking

Associate Director, Private Banking

September 1987 – March 1997

Banking

• Analysis of commercial accounting details prior to the Bank entering into credit relationships, both secured and unsecured. Implementation and delivery of new initiatives, overcoming objections, processes and legal difficulties to ensure installation of UK based services to an offshore environment. Offshore Trainer and mentor to staff.

EDUCATION:

1987: College

1 ‘A’ Level

1985: High School

7 ‘O’ levels

2000: Securities Institute

Investment Advice Certificate, paper 1

2006: Credit and Finance Training

Corporate Credit Analysis and Business Development

2016

Certificate of Mortgage Practice (CeMAP)

References Available Upon Request

If you are interested in this candidate, please contact Simon Blau via email sblau@cerfinancial.co.uk or call on 0207 626 6065.

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