Analyst Credit Risk Strategy (Credit & Fraud)

Absa Group; Johannesburg; On-site; ZAR 450,000 - 650,000; Full time

Job summary

Absa Group is seeking a dynamic and analytical Credit Risk Strategy – New Underwriting Analyst to join their Everyday Banking team. The role includes developing underwriting strategies and analyzing data to manage credit risks across the portfolio, ensuring responsible and profitable lending decisions. Candidates should possess a relevant Bachelor's Degree and have 3 years of experience in data analysis, particularly utilizing SAS or SQL.

Qualifications

• 3 years of experience in data analysis utilizing a standard statistical package such as SAS.
• Strong analytical or modelling skills.
• Understanding of acquisition, pricing strategies or credit risk modelling.

Responsibilities

• Develop, review, implement and monitor new underwriting strategies.
• Conduct high-quality credit risk assessments and reviews.
• Produce & analyse monthly MI to support areas of potential concern.

Skills

Analytical skills

Problem Solving

Communication

Networking

SAS Programming

SQL Programming

Education

Bachelor's Degree in Business, Mathematics, Actuarial science, Statistics, Risk Management, Finance

Tools

SAS

SQL

Job description

Empowering Africa’s tomorrow, together…one story at a time.

With over 100 years of rich history and strongly positioned as a local bank with regional and international expertise, a career with our family offers the opportunity to be part of this exciting growth journey, to reset our future and shape our destiny as a proudly African group.

Job Summary

We are looking for a dynamic and analytical Credit Risk Strategy – New Underwriting Analyst to join our Everyday Banking team. The primary purpose of this role is to support the Credit Manager in developing, refining, and implementing underwriting strategies for both new and existing customers, as well as driving pricing and profitability initiatives across unsecured lending products.

The ideal candidate will be responsible for conducting high-quality credit risk assessments and reviews, proactively managing credit risks across the portfolio, and leveraging data to design and refine risk strategies that enable responsible and profitable lending decisions. In addition, the role involves tracking and monitoring strategy performance, developing insightful management information (MI) reports, and highlighting emerging trends to guide strategic decisions within the portfolio.

This is a great opportunity to influence the credit lifecycle through data-driven thinking and contribute to the sustainable growth of our unsecured lending business.

Job Description

Strategy Design & Analysis

Develop data driven strategies within the Everyday Banking Risk Acquisition Team which include

• Develop, review, implement and monitor new, existing customer underwriting strategies and pricing and profitability strategies.
• Ensuring that the above strategies are inline with the risk appetite, which include but not limited to maintaining Loan Loss Rate (LLR’s), Return on Regulatory Capital (RoRC’s) and default rates are within risk thresholds.
• Review and implementation of policy and business rules to assist with mitigating risk in the underwriting strategies.
• Develop alternative acquisition and profitability strategies by making use of alternative data or alternative methodologies.

Stakeholder Holder Management

• Liaise and support product/business stakeholders to drive overall objectives/goals of Everyday Banking.
• Engage with credit risk modelling team to review and ensure that the models are appropriate for underwriting, pricing and profitability strategies.
• Engage with portfolio analytics and impairments team to ensure that the strategies are in line with the overall risk appetite.
• Support and engage with the relevant MI teams to ensure that key data and analysis performance is reported and ensure compliance with company strategy and regulatory requirements are met.
• Communicate with members of the respective Strategic Business Units (SBUs) to ensure speedy adoption of strategy development & revisions.
• Liaise with operational/implementation areas to ensure strategies are working optimally.

Reporting and MI

• Produce & analyse monthly MI, to provide insight to support areas of potential concern & develop remedial action plans.
• Provide support and assist with affordability and reckless lending reports.
• Produce strategy review documentation that shows relevant performance of comparative acquisition & existing customer strategies.
• Exception reporting, ensure that the strategies are implemented as correctly on IT systems.
• Manage strategy sign-off process to ensure all stakeholders are informed of proposed strategy changes and ensure all strategies comply with Bank's credit risk policies & framework.
• Produce ad-hoc analysis reports on specific credit risk requests.

Customer Complaints Management

• Investigate & resolve all unresolved customer complaints escalated for final decisioning. Provide prompt & clear feedback to source of complaint.
• Support and engage with the Credit lending team on customer escalations.
• Reconsider all declined applications that have been escalated to Credit Risk for further consideration. Refer all complex matters that need more investigation to the Head: Risk

Experience Required:

• B Degree or Advanced Diplomas in Business, Mathematics, Actuarial science, Statistics, Risk Management, Finance or equivalent NQF level 7 qualification

Education:

• Understanding of acquisition, pricing strategies or credit risk modelling.
• Strong analytical or modelling skills.
• 3 years’ experience is required, in data analysis utilising a standard statistical package such as SAS.
• SAS Programming or SQL programming
• Problem Solving
• Communication, Networking and People skills
• SAS Viya Advantageous

Education

Bachelor's Degree: BMI - Business Management and Informatics (Required)

Absa Bank Limited is an equal opportunity, affirmative action employer. In compliance with the Employment Equity Act 55 of 1998, preference will be given to suitable candidates from designated groups whose appointments will contribute towards achievement of equitable demographic representation of our workforce profile and add to the diversity of the Bank.

Absa Bank Limited reserves the right not to make an appointment to the post as advertised