Area Credit Head - SME Retail

About the Role

The Area Credit Head for SME Retail at Aditya Birla Capital is accountable for critically evaluating credit proposals related to Mortgage lending products such as Loan against Property, Lease Rent Discounting, Construction Finance and Home Loans. The position involves detailed analysis of risk factors including industry, business fundamentals, financials, management, and facility structure to provide comprehensive risk insights enabling timely and informed approval decisions. The role is pivotal in collaborating closely with sales teams to ensure rapid turnaround of credit proposals.

Organizational Context and Challenges

Aditya Birla Finance Limited (ABFL), a Systematically Important NBFC, boasts a pan-India presence with 91 branches and a loan book of Rs. 45,560 Crores as of December 2020. ABFL’s diverse lending portfolio spans Retail, HNI, MSME, and Corporate segments offering secured and unsecured loans across various segments including SME, Infrastructure, and Capital Markets Finance. Given the increasing complexity posed by high-risk products like industrial, warehouse, and plot funding, the role demands advanced expertise to prudently manage credit risk beyond conventional residential and commercial property lending.

Key Responsibilities

• Conduct in-depth assessments and credit analyses of lending proposals, facilitating local decisions or escalations to regional or national credit committees.
• Analyze client creditworthiness by reviewing financial statements, tax returns, cash flows, repayment history, bank balances, and alignment with internal credit policies.
• Engage directly with customers and stakeholders to gather relevant credit information through personal interactions, legal, and technical validations.
• Undertake comprehensive external market and industry research including inputs from bankers, suppliers, and customers to evaluate proposals effectively.
• Prepare detailed Credit Appraisal Memos highlighting key borrower risks for regional credit managers to support prudent lending decisions.
• Oversee proper documentation management ensuring timely and compliant agreement execution and mortgage creation with clear title and marketable securities.
• Exercise financial delegation authority up to INR 1.50 Crores for credit approvals and deviations.
• Continuously monitor mortgage portfolio performance by tracking rating changes, covenant compliance, overdue statuses, and recovery support actions.
• Maintain and enhance relationships with financial institutions for independent local industry references when required.
• Ensure strict compliance with credit policies, internal and external lending norms, and participate actively in their periodic updates and developments.
• Manage end-to-end process adherence according to SOPs including distributor network oversight to prevent frauds and improve credit approval flow efficiency.
• Develop and deliver training sessions on underwriting, legal, technical aspects, and credit processes for internal teams and vendor coordination.
• Handle customer escalations and complaints related to disbursement stages through effective communication and collaboration with legal teams.
• Manage and lead credit analyst and CPA teams ensuring adherence to turnaround times, quality standards, and process compliance.
• Identify, recommend, and manage vendors including valuers, legal agencies, investigation and fraud prevention units, ensuring timely deliverables and quality performance.

Reporting and Interactions

This role reports to the Regional Credit Head - Mortgage and works closely with the Head of Credit, Risk & Compliance, regional credit managers, credit analysts, sales, operations, and other support teams. Externally, regular interactions occur with clients, auditors, lawyers, valuers, and fraud containment agencies.

Additional Information

The job was last updated on 2nd April 2021. The role carries significant responsibility for loan portfolios often ranging below INR 25 Crores with average loans about INR 3 Crores, necessitating vigilant monitoring to manage delinquency risks effectively.