Director Corporate Credit Risk

About the Barclays Europe Risk Function

Regulated by the European Central Bank and the Central Bank of Ireland, Barclays Bank Ireland PLC (known as Barclays Europe) is the core European subsidiary of Barclays Group. Barclays Europe focuses on corporate and investment bank businesses as well as Barclaycard. With teams in Ireland, France, Germany, Italy and Spain, the Barclays Europe Risk function is responsible for the management and monitoring of risks originated by and booked in Barclays Europe.

Overall purpose of role

The successful applicant for this role will join Barclays’ Corporate Credit Risk team in Frankfurt (optionally Dublin, Paris, Milan or Madrid). The team is responsible for reviewing, sanctioning and monitoring Barclays’ credit risk relationships to corporations, real estate companies and certain non-bank financial institutions, headquartered in the European Economic Area (EEA). In addition, the team reviews and decides whether or not to sanction credit risk of Project Finance transactions as well as credit exposures to clients headquartered outside of the EEA that may be booked in a Barclays Europe affiliate.

The future jobholder is expected to manage an assigned portfolio of counterparty groups and associated credit facilities, mainly focused on Project Finance and the Power, Utilities and Infrastructure sectors, and to:

·dynamically assess the creditworthiness of counterparties and transactions, under consideration of the operating environment, counterparties’/transactions’ long-term viability as well as other internal and external factors

·take on a leading role in the analysis/sanctioning process, to formulate risk appetite and to ensure lending, financing and derivative transactions are approved within acceptable risk parameters and policy

·seek approval from more senior authority holders in case one’s own discretion does not suffice to sanction a request

·document the analysis in internal credit reviews and/or review/sanction documentation drafted by colleagues

·ensure sanctioned credit facilities as well as associated information and documentation are recorded and stored in risk management systems, and ensure data integrity

·monitor projects’/customers’ business and financial developments, and pro-actively take action necessary to protect the bank’s capital

·report portfolio themes both from a macro and a counterparty-specific point of view to senior stakeholders, on an ad-hoc as well as in regular risk reviews.

The person taking on the role will require a solid understanding of the drivers, opportunities and challenges of the European energy markets, multi-year experience in the analysis of Project Finance transactions and needs to be familiar with all associated credit products including their inherent risks as well as best practice with regard to the execution of protective legal documentation and other risk mitigants.

The successful candidate will be in frequent dialogue with a number of internal stakeholders, in particular the Front Office, Legal, Compliance and Operations. Thus, self-confidence as well as strong verbal & written communication skills are important. Fluent English language skills are a must; proficiency in German is a plus.

Key Accountabilities

Credit Analysis/Determination of Risk Appetite:

·Ownership and management of a portfolio of clients/sectors/transactions which will also include the adoption of new-to-bank relationships

·The independent conduct of calls/meetings with internal and external clients as well as market participants to support the due diligence process

·The preparation of own cash flow models and/or the challenge/modification of projections provided by clients and business partners, incl. the consideration of downside/stress scenarios

·The establishment and maintenance of counterparty ratings, based on the analysis of counterparties’/projects’ financial statements and/or projections, qualitative factors impacting the long-term viability of client/project strategies as well as management suitability and sophistication

·The definition of risk appetite for credit relationships in the portfolio and new-to-bank clients, as well as projects

·The validation that risk appetite fits within portfolio restrictions (e.g. country and industry appetite, legal entity restrictions, etc.) and escalation to senior sanctioners who may have authority to approve potential excesses

·Documentation of credit proposals, appetite, annual reviews as well as interim risk reporting updates

·Approval of credit reviews within delegated discretion or appropriate recommendation to relevant approval level

Transaction Approval:

·Maintenance of deep knowledge in both investment banking and commercial banking products

·Review and assessment of credit proposals presented by Front Office, incl. credit documentation offered, such as terms and conditions of proposed credit agreements

·Establishment of approval conditions deemed necessary to mitigate risk

·Management of credit processes for complex transactions, including case presentation to committees and senior sanctioners.

·Participation in Business and Distribution committees

·Challenges of new and existing credit exposures while maintaining good rapport with Front Office

·Determination and review of expected Loss Given Default of credit facilities newly originated and already booked

·Assessments of requests for amendments/waivers and associated impact (e.g. flagging/reporting requirements)

·Strict adherence to regulatory classification/reporting requirements

·Support of other members on the team in case of absences, heavy workload or restrictions

Risk Monitoring:

·Strict adherence to policies, procedures, laws and associated internal and external requirements

·Monitoring of macroeconomic developments and assessment of likely impact on customers in the portfolio

·Regular reviews of customers’/projects’ business and financial performance on the basis of financial statements, press releases and news articles, due diligence calls, as well as market indicators

·Monitoring of internal risk indicators, e.g. late payments, account/credit limit excesses, behavioural changes

·Submission of ad-hoc notes to senior management in case of significantly adverse news/observations

·Initiation of appropriate action (e.g. identification and early flagging of underperformance/risk concerns)

·Proactive contribution to strategic initiatives within the Risk function (incl. portfolio reviews, regulatory requests, data quality related exercises, etc.)

Stakeholder Management and Leadership

·The jobholder is expected to take the lead in the credit process, which necessitates strong communication skills, both verbally and in writing. The role requires well-defined interpersonal skills and an ability and self-confidence to conduct challenging/constructive/balanced conversations across various stakeholders including Front Office and leadership, as well as direct client interaction.

·Mentoring and coaching of less experienced colleagues will form a key part of the role

Person Specification

·Strong commercial and credit judgement

·Strong sense of governance/controls

·Ability to apply high standards of quality and quantity

·Timely and effective problem-solving and decision-making skills

·Proactive, energetic and resilient individual with can-do approach

·Decisive, clear, and capable of acting at speed and have the energy and resilience to work in a complex and challenging environment

·Strong interpersonal skills with track record of demonstrating integrity, initiative, strong commitment and collaborative approach

·Strong communication, relationship and stakeholder management skills

·Track record of driving effective processes

·Mindset to strive for continuous improvement of workflows, processes and policies

Required Skills/Qualifications:

·Strong credit risk skills and multi-year experience as a senior credit sanctioner in an international banking environment

·Multi-year transaction and product experience in Project Finance as well as Power, Utilities and Infrastructure sectors

·Solid understanding of general accounting principles, cash flow and balance sheet analysis and interpretation, financial models and modelling techniques, risk measurement and risk mitigation techniques.

·Good understanding of present regulatory requirements affecting the portfolio

·Strong knowledge across a wide range of Corporate and Investment Banking products, with a focus on lending but also transaction banking and derivatives.

·Professional qualifications, e.g. Bachelor/Masters degree, post graduate qualifications (FRM, CFA, etc.)

·Language skills: Fluent business English is a minimum requirement with proficiency in German being a plus