Area Credit Manager - Retail - Delhi

Job Purpose

The position exists to manage and oversee the credit underwriting operations in the assigned region, ensuring swift evaluation and approval of credit applications with appropriate risk mitigation.

Key Responsibilities

• Supervise the credit underwriting process and review credit proposals submitted within the region.
• Ensure rapid turnaround of credit applications through close collaboration with credit analysts and sales teams.
• Implement necessary risk mitigation steps, ensuring compliance with legal, documentation policies, and highlighting credit risks to facilitate informed approval decisions.
• Continuously monitor credit exposures to confirm they remain viable and bankable.
• Review documentation of credit proposals and monitor client creditworthiness throughout the sanction to post-disbursement phases.
• Authorize credit proposals within designated authority and escalate higher-value cases to the National Risk Management or Credit Committee for approval.
• Lead and motivate a team distributed across multiple locations serving varied business segments.
• Maintain comprehensive documentation and monitor turnaround times to optimize credit approval processes.
• Ensure adherence to Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and monitor loan covenants and sanction conditions.
• Manage overdue accounts and support recovery efforts as necessary.
• Address customer escalations and complaints both during and after loan disbursement.
• Drive continuous improvements in credit approval workflows to adapt to dynamic market and business requirements.

Organizational Context & Challenges

This role is within the lending division of a leading financial services group specializing in asset-backed lending and recently expanded into unsecured lending for small businesses and individuals. It involves competing in a price-sensitive market with rigorous credit evaluation using both quantitative and qualitative parameters such as client credibility, earnings, capital adequacy, liquidity, and management quality.

Challenges include ensuring comprehensive and reliable data for credit appraisals, maintaining efficient turnaround in a competitive environment, mitigating credit and customer risks, facilitating cross-functional coordination, and managing account regularization and documentation.

Skills & Qualifications

• Strong analytical and evaluation skills with attention to detail and decision-making capabilities.
• Proactive approach with goal orientation and market awareness.
• Competent team management and leadership skills.
• Educational qualification: Chartered Accountant or MBA.
• Experience: 4 to 7 years in credit and risk roles within banks or Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs).

Key Result Areas

• Manage credit underwriting ensuring adherence to norms including assessment of financial statements, tax records, cash flows, and bank balances.
• Conduct thorough investigation through direct customer interactions.
• Approve credit proposals appropriately and prepare detailed credit appraisal memos highlighting risks to support knowledgeable decisions.
• Ensure proper issuance of sanction letters and manage documentation handover to operations.
• Maintain rigorous documentation and MIS reporting for portfolio tracking, risk evaluation, and presentations to senior stakeholders.
• Enforce end-to-end process compliance with SOPs and monitor credit repayment covenants.
• Oversee the regional credit analysts’ team performance ensuring turnaround times, process adherence, and credit quality.
• Coordinate training programs for credit and sales teams on product knowledge, legal, and procedural aspects.