Business Analyst

1001 Absa Bank; Pretoria; On-site; ZAR 520,000 - 860,000; Full time

Job summary

Absa Bank Limited is seeking a Business Analyst to ensure credit applications meet policy, risk, and quality standards while supporting front-end sales targets. You will collaborate with the Asset Finance Consultant, RE, and clients to gather data, perform robust analyses, and prepare proposals for credit decisions.

Responsibilities include sanctioning support, risk mitigation insights, and maintaining timely credit reviews within defined policies.

Qualifications

• BCom or equivalent with focus on accounting/finance and risk.
• Ability to interpret annual financial statements and forecasts.
• Understanding of credit risk models within risk environment.

Responsibilities

• Prepare credit applications and accompanying research for lending decisions.
• Liaise with Asset Finance Consultant, RE, and clients to gather required data.
• Perform financial and non-financial analysis to support proposals.
• Submit sanctioning paperwork and present at Credit Committee meetings.
• Maintain management information and monitor credit exposures.

Skills

Credit analysis

Financial forecasting

Risk assessment

Stakeholder liaison

Data interpretation

Education

BCom in Accounting & Finance

Bachelor’s Degree in Business/Commerce/Management

Tools

Fiebica

RBEU

Job description

Corporate Introduction

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

The overall job purpose of a Business Analyst is to ensure that credit applications and dealer approvals are of an acceptable risk profile, appropriate quality and conform to Absa Credit’s lending policy, and that applications are timeously compiled and submitted for credit assessment. The Business Analyst also supports the front-end sales team’s short- and long-term objectives and deals with a range of credit requests, even in the absence of the Asset Finance Consultant.

Job Description

Accountability: Prepare Credit Applications

• Liaise with the Asset Finance Consultant / Relationship Executive (RE), clients and other stakeholders to understand the process or requirements of credit applications for all clients concerned.
• Conduct research on the industry in which the client operates to understand the industry’s overall profitability, industry trends and the client’s market standing relative to its competitors.
• Perform robust financial and non-financial analysis on the client that will support and underpin all new proposals for commercial asset finance in terms of the client’s credit risk implications.
• Make use of the client’s historical data, for example its financial statements, to forecast the client’s potential growth and sustainability.
• Conduct a sensitivity/scenario analysis to determine the impact that a change in, for example, the economy, political situation or consumer demand will have on the client’s financial health.
• Based on the analysis conducted, structure a commercial asset finance lending solution for the client that accounts for potential threats to the client and is within set credit limits and the Bank’s credit lending policies and appetite.
• Compile a proposal that summarises the client’s background and commercial asset finance needs, the research findings and the final recommendation on which commercial asset finance credit lending solution is best for the client, for the Credit Manager to approve in the interim and elevate for the necessary further approval.
• Upon reviewing the client’s financials, submit recommendations for risk-mitigating, value-added insurance products to be added to the finance agreement. These products will mitigate the risk to both the Bank and the client.
• Facilitate the commercial asset finance credit sanctioning process by responding to sanctioning enquiries and/or attending all relevant Credit Committee meetings to present and sponsor commercial asset finance credit applications submitted under your signature.
• Produce relevant management information and manage exposures, including the maintenance of the relevant systems.
• Proactively manage credit risks associated with commercial asset finance importation transactions.
• Compile commercial asset finance reviews, amendments and new applications for the appropriate lending authorities.
• Request valuations on movable and immovable assets that serve as security for commercial asset finance facilities.
• Liaise with the Asset Finance Consultant / Relationship Executive (RE), clients and other stakeholders to understand the process or requirements of credit applications for all clients concerned.
• Gather financial information, including financial statements and cash flows, to support the application from the client where necessary.
• Use applicable software to assess client financial information and submit financials to the Remote Balance Sheet Extraction Unit (RBEU) before updating Fiebica.
• Include the product specialist report, covering needs, research findings and final recommendations, as provided by the Asset Finance Consultant, in the Fiebica application.
• Monitor credit lines continuously and ensure formal reviews are completed at specified intervals or arrange extensions.

Accountability: Relationship management

• Liaise with Relationship Executives and Asset Finance Consultants and/or clients to achieve acceptable levels of approved credit facilities.
• Accompany Relationship Executives / Asset Finance Consultants on client visits to obtain relevant financial information and an understanding of the credit process.
• Liaise with Group Legal and prepare relevant master agreements for signature by the client.
• If the Commercial Asset Finance Consultant is unable to meet with the client, the Business Analyst must be responsible for signing the asset-based finance credit agreements with clients and providing the necessary FAIS advice.

Accountability: Compliance

• Ensure that all of the Bank’s credit policies and philosophy are fully complied with at all times, and that any policy breaches are suitably addressed and mitigated.
• Ensure adherence to the Absa Business Bank Credit Policy and other relevant legislation, including during the application preparation process.
• Ensure adherence to commercial asset finance target market criteria and that all deviations are suitably addressed and mitigated.

Minimum Requirements

• BCom Degree in Accounting and Finance or Equivalent. (NQF7).
• Understanding of Credit Risk Models and their impact within Risk Environment.
• Understanding, Assessment and Interpretation of Annual Financial Statements.
• Education Bachelors Degree and Professional Qualifications: Business, Commerce and Management Studies (Required)

Equal Opportunity and Diversity

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.

At Absa, our story is not a single narrative. It’s thousands of individual journeys unfolding across Africa and beyond. From colleagues serving customers in local communities to teams shaping financial solutions across borders, Absa is built on people who bring their lived experiences, ambitions and perspectives into the workplace every day. Whether you’re starting your career, a seasoned leader or somewhere in between, your contribution is seen, valued and connected to something bigger. Our presence across Africa – which spans personal and business banking, corporate and investment banking, wealth and investment management, and insurance – exists because of the people who show up in their roles with purpose. Across Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, Mozambique, Seychelles, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia, our colleagues are shaping what Absa becomes in each market. Beyond the continent, teams in global offices and a technology hub support and extend the stories that prove that African talent can lead, influence and innovate on the global stage. At Absa, your story matters because progress is driven by human experience, not hierarchy. When people are enabled to bring their whole selves to work, they don’t just build careers. They help shape the future of Africa’s financial services landscape.