Senior Technical Specialist, Specialist Financial Risk in C&FI Credit Risk Team - SRS in London

As a directorate of the PRA, the Supervisory Risk Specialists (SRS) provides deep technical expertise and applies judgement in specific risk disciplines, in order to identify, analyse and mitigate material risks to the safety and soundness of PRA regulated firms. SRS supports the wider Bank through providing risk specialist expertise to a range of functions.

Department Overview

Within the Credit, Risk, Analytics, Capital and Liquidity (CRACL) division of Supervisory Risk Specialists (SRS), the Corporate and Financial Institutions (C&FI) team comprises a group of wholesale credit industry experts and practitioners, who are a centre of expertise across the Bank of England and the PRA. The C&FI team focuses on supporting the Bank's supervisory objectives. Key activities of the team include the following:

• Firm reviews to assess and challenge credit risk management practices, including governance and control processes across the entire credit risk life cycle, assessing wholesale credit risk appetite and challenging market position and strategy.
• Asset quality reviews, including examining underwriting standards across multiple wholesale asset classes (e.g. Corporates, Commercial Real Estate, SME, Financial Institutions and Sovereign exposures).
• Horizon Scanning: Identify emerging and horizon risks pertaining to wholesale portfolios and assess potential impact on UK banks' portfolios.
• Ongoing monitoring of major UK banks' wholesale credit risks including assessing changes in reported asset quality and identifying areas of vulnerability.
• Contribute towards wholesale credit risk judgements on the concurrent stress testing, review and challenge analysis undertaken of firms' stress loss projections for global wholesale portfolios.
• Work collaboratively with colleagues across the wider Bank of England to ensure that wholesale credit risks are widely understood throughout the organisation and contribute to a joined up and holistic regulatory framework.

An opportunity has arisen for a Senior Technical Specialist to join the Corporate and Financial Institutions (C&FI) Credit Risk team in SRS. The role holder is expected to have extensive understanding of wholesale credit risks portfolios derived from recent industry experience, with a technical specialism in one or more areas of corporate or financial institutions credit risk.

The Senior Technical Specialist will be expected to apply technical expertise and rigor to provide judgement-led assurance over Credit Risk Management and Controls and an independent assessment of Asset Quality, in support of the PRA's safety and soundness objective and the wider Bank's objectives. This will be delivered through the following responsibilities.

Role Responsibilities

The Senior Technical Specialist will be expected to:

• Scope and lead on-site and desk-based wholesale credit risk Asset Quality and Technical Risk Reviews across a variety of banks. The review would typically involve assessing a bank's governance, risk appetite, credit risk policies and control framework, problem debt management including provisioning practices, and individual loan file assessments to test asset quality against reported metrics. In some cases, the Senior Technical Specialist will oversee and advise others in carrying out such reviews, and in other cases this could be supporting reviews of other wholesale asset classes.
• The individual will foster good relationships with PRA Supervisors of these firms, as well as directly interacting with senior management at firms, including Chief Risk Officers, Chief Credit Officers and front-line business owners.
• Lead cross-firm or market reviews to evaluate firms' comparative portfolio performance and risk concentrations. Proactively scan the horizon for emerging risks and ensuring appropriate action is taken to mitigate these.
• Provide technical guidance and thought leadership in the individual's area of expertise, plan and lead all aspects of work relating to that expertise within the framework of Supervisory Risk Specialist's engagement model with other Supervisory colleagues.
• Review a wide range of information including financial, regulatory and management information. The role holder will be required to challenge a firm's interpretation of its credit metrics, provide insightful analysis and specify, over time, the links to policy and financial resilience / stability.
• Participate in industry forums as the relevant technical specialist for the PRA, utilise insight to supplement market knowledge and support shaping the Bank's objectives.
• Support internal programmes of work to ensure that wholesale credit risks are widely understood throughout the organisation and contribute to a joined up and holistic regulatory framework.

Role Requirements

• Extensive and recent industry experience & understanding of wholesale credit risks portfolios, industrial sectors or products, with a technical specialism in one or more areas of corporate or financial institutions credit risk.
• Detailed knowledge of risk appetite, governance and policies, together with related risk analytics.
• Ability to conduct individual loan file assessments to test asset quality against reported metrics and assess credit risk stewardship.
• Knowledge of key regulatory and accounting concepts such as probability of default (PD), loss given default (LGD), exposure at default (EAD), and Pillar 1 approaches for capitalising wholesale credit risk exposures, as well as broader IFRS 9 provisioning of Wholesale Banking Book exposures.
• Ability to analyse and challenge underlying data, MI, and the policies and procedures which apply in the Wholesale Banking and Credit Risk environments. Use experience to form judgements.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills. Strong experience of writing and delivering reports and presentations about technical issues in a succinct way that can be easily understood by a non-technical audience. Ability to credibly present with influence and to defend views whilst being open to constructive challenge and feedback, to both internal and external senior counterparts.
• Strong leadership and partnering skills, a track record of delivering including through others, and can work independently.
• Ability to manage a project of work, including setting objectives, monitoring progress against plan, and keeping key partners informed.
• The role holder is expected to have extensive understanding of wholesale credit risks portfolios with a technical specialism in one or more areas of corporate or financial institutions credit risk. Desirable areas of technical specialism include commercial real estate, leveraged lending, private credit, and infrastructure lending.
• Knowledge of stress testing and ECL methodologies and models with the ability to analyse and challenge the plausibility of impairments for wholesale portfolios.

Salary and Benefits Information

Salary as follows: In addition, we also offer a comprehensive benefits package as detailed below:

• Currently a non-contributory, career average pension giving you a guaranteed retirement benefit of 1/80th of your annual salary for every year worked. There is the option to increase your pension (to 1/65th) or decrease (to 1/105th) in exchange for salary through our flexible benefits programme each year. The Bank has the discretion to vary standard accrual rates and dial up and dial down rates at any time and to withdraw dial up and dial down options at any time.
• A discretionary performance award based on a current award pool.
• An 8% benefits allowance with the option to take as salary or purchase a wide range of flexible benefits.
• 26 days' annual leave with option to buy up to 12 additional days through flexible benefits.
• Private medical insurance and income protection.

National Security Vetting Process

Employment in this role will be subject to the National Security Vetting clearance process (and typically can take between 6 to 12 weeks post offer) and the passing of additional Bank security checks in accordance with the Bank policy. The Bank of England welcomes applications from all candidates, but as a UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) approved sponsor, we have a responsibility to comply with the Immigration Rules and guidance. As such, our ability to employ individuals who require sponsorship for immigration purposes is limited.