Credit Analyst at Affinity Africa

We are creating an Africa where dreams are achievable, unimpeded by access to finance. Our mission begins with building Ghana's first fully digital banking institution and expanding across Africa to offer affordable deposits, loans, and instant account opening, all through a seamless tech-driven experience. By providing free bank accounts with no monthly fees and interest on all products, as well as affordable loans, Affinity drives innovation and economic growth through meaningful financial inclusion. Our goal is to bank two million Ghanaians by 2026.

Job summary

The Business Credit Analyst manages the origination of Business Banking credit proposals on behalf of Relationship Officers. The Business Credit Analyst role will include supporting account and portfolio management as required.

Responsibilities

Key responsibilities

1. Identify credit and risk management requirements at the source of the deal negotiation/ business proposal.
2. Conduct credit evaluation interviews during deal negotiation to obtain sufficient and appropriate information to evaluate business risk and deal viability, from a credit risk perspective
3. Ensure the improvement in quality of business analysis and motivation on credit applications to eliminate unnecessary queries; improve turnaround time on decisions; and achieve high reliability of credit evaluations
4. Work in partnership with the Business Banking Relationship Officer at the branch/hub and the client to identify alternatives that could bring non-viable deals/ proposals within acceptable risk parameters relative to profitability.
5. Recommend appropriate facilities in line with risk evaluation.
6. Present and defend own judgment & senior credit evaluations to clients in a manner that does not negatively affect the business relationship.
7. Gain a thorough understanding of the economic, business, regulatory, and legal environments.
8. Identify, quantify, and evaluate sources of risk in relation to the profitability of a business proposal and the financial viability of an SME as a whole, interrogating information obtained to gain a thorough understanding of business parameters that create profit/value as well as the associated risks.
9. Utilize Industry risk analysis available to identify and understand contextual threats to existing and potential clients.
10. Evaluate whether proposals meet sound business criteria and counterparty credit risk falls within acceptable parameters, and recommend appropriate business credit facilities, including terms or conditions of facilities.
11. Prepare credit applications providing sound financial and business justification for deals/proposals within acceptable risk parameters relative to the profitability.
12. Build relationships with Business Banking Relationship Officers to improve the quality of business proposals and turnaround time on credit evaluations.
13. Share joint credit responsibility for the portfolio.
14. Facilitate co-operative relationships between internal contributors in the credit value chain
15. Understands the terms of the facilities, and any conditions and covenants that will need to be complied with over the duration of the facility's life, to manage risk within set parameters.

Requirements

Key skills and requirements

1. Detailed understanding of financial analysis to analyze the financial strengths and weaknesses of clients, and identify potential risks to SMEs.
2. Thorough understanding of all Affinity’s products that give rise to counterparty credit risk, including their mechanisms and source of profitability for the client and the company, and what constitutes credit risks in these products.
3. Knowledge of financial markets and the volatile nature of certain variable security held, as well as the market forces that influence their market value.
4. Using available information sources and technology to tap information crucial to sound effectively and informed decision-making and management of credit-related deals.
5. Thorough conceptual and practical knowledge of credit procedures, policies, and standards, as they apply to each situation, such as credit applications, bad debts, disputes, obtaining legal assistance, and reporting.
6. The ability to take a balanced approach towards risk/reward with effective risk mitigation as opposed to a risk minimization approach.

Education and professional requirements

1. Minimum of a Bachelor's Degree in any area from a recognized and accredited institution
2. At least three (3) years of experience in relationship management in the SME segment
3. At least a year of experience in a credit /risk environment