Commercial Rating and Underwriting (CRU) sits within the Risk and Information Management division and forms the institutional credit risk management function within American Express. The CRU team plays the critical role of assessing and managing the risk of institutional exposures across all business units within American Express, and in all regions globally.
Credit exposures are primarily generated through corporate and small business card programs, via merchant service relationships where non-delivery risk exists, and among the securities portfolio held for firm-wide liquidity.
CRU JAPA is led from Singapore covering JAPA (Japan, Asia Pacific and Australia), with direct reporting line into Global Head of CRU in Salt Lake City, USA. In addition to determining the internal credit rating which drives the probability of default of each exposure, CRU also calculates the loss given default of these obligors while underwriting card programs.
As a bank holding company, American Express must comply with the highest global banking standards set by Basel and implemented by the bank’s primarily regulatory, the Federal Reserve.
Analyst in CRU are responsible for rating and underwriting credit exposures in their assigned region, industry, and business line. This role will cover the Japan market. Fundamental analysis incorporates a thorough review of business, financial, industry and country risk coupled with support from internal and external rating model outputs.
Assessment includes understanding of the need for credit extension, profitability of the relationship and program structures. This position interacts with various constituents across the firm including the Japan front office sales, business unit risk partners, and credit administration to perform their critical role.
- Expertise as a credit risk analyst, dealing with commercial exposures ranging from SME or middle-market to large, multinational institutions in Japan or with Japanese banks based in Singapore. Ability to read Japanese financial statement is a must.
- Experience in determining appropriate credit capacity, structuring of facilities, and risk mitigation techniques
- Thorough understanding of fundamental financial analysis including the ability to review corporate financial statements to determine the ability of the obligor to honor its credit obligations
- Comfort with GAAP/IFRS accounting standards, corporate valuation, and forecasting.
- Knowledge of public agency ratings, and supporting analysis
- Ability to understand current macroeconomic trends in Japan, and making respective sound recommendations to improve the Probability of Default based on the business cycle
- Experience preparing company-specific and industry-wide credit memorandums
- Excellent judgment in making sound rating and underwriting decisions to maximize profitability and mitigate risk
- 2-5 years' experience in rating and / or underwriting at a leading financial institution, preferably with Japanese bank.
- Bachelor’s degree from a top tier university and a degree in finance, accounting, economics, or statistics
- Graduate degree with a finance or business emphasis, or Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation, is a plus