Credit Officer ECM Credit Lending-1 at Absa Group Limited (Absa)

Job Description

Key accountabilities

Accountability: Quality and risk assessment

• Demonstrate a good understanding of the following products: Cheque Accounts, Revolving Loans, Personal Loans, Student Loans and Credit Cards.
• Ensure timeous and quality credit assessments with regard to new facilities and increases.
• Review of existing overdraft facilities to address the financial needs of the client while ensuring that the outcome is aligned to the bank's risk appetite.
• Ensure that the portfolio assessment includes a risk, financial and credit worthiness assessment.
• Ensure that quality assets are placed on the book by assisting the Strategic Business Units (SBUs) to grow their asset books.
• Be effective and efficient in terms of the assessment process by adhering to the laid-down processes, e.g. credit risk manual, circulars, procedures and policies.
• Identify SBU training needs and assist with the upskilling of staff with guidance from the Team Manager.
• Keep up to date with industry market trends and developments in the economy by staying abreast of financial and industry news via the media and Absa's in-house communication, to enhance the skills required for holistic credit assessments and a review thereof.
• Contact customers via Avaya POM and ensure professional telephone etiquette in line with the call scripts.
• Strong negotiation skills to manage high-risk portfolios.
• Educate customers with regard to creditworthiness and how to improve their financial position.
• Keep to the agreed turnaround time of five working hours if assessing new applications.
• Enhance productivity on core activities measured against the national average.

Accountability: Compliance and processes

• Adhere to and comply with all service level agreements (SLAs) of five working hours on application scorings to ensure overall service delivery to SBUs, other credit lending departments and our external clients.
• Comply with the sunset rule when dealing with existing customers in Existing Customer Management.
• Adhere to governance, regulatory and legislative requirements during the execution of duties in the normal course of business.
•  Complete the mandatory training within the timelines set by management.
• Adhere to Absa's and credit-specific processes and policies as regular quality checks will be conducted.
• Non-adherence to policies, identified by team members during the normal course of business, to be referred to the Team Manager to address and minimise risk.
• Use feedback received from quality checks to demonstrate a continuous improvement in overall performance.  
• Initiate ideas and provide input to the Team Managers to improve credit processes and policies.
• Update knowledge through newly published procedures and circulars.  

Accountability: Customer and stakeholder management

• Provide our internal customers with excellent support and be solution-driven by building sustainable relationships.
• Provide our external customers with excellent support and provide quality credit solutions by ensuring that the appropriate business decisions are made within the assessment processes and existing customer management.
• Identify leads and submit them via the agreed platform – this will support the growth of Absa’s asset book and prevent competitors from marketing similar products to our clients.
• Ensure high quality in all aspects of communication to our customers, to enhance the customer satisfaction score.

Accountability: Working together as a team

• Demonstrate the willingness and ability to perform by ensuring personal alignment to Absa's values.
• Encourage all team members to perform in a similar manner, to meet all objectives and deliver outstanding performance on an ongoing basis.
• Attend team meetings and participate, providing suggestions for ways of improving customer service, and meet and exceed targets.
• Contribute to an environment of mutual support by sharing knowledge and best practices with other team members.
  • Create a culture of high performance to achieve sustainable results.

• Play an active role in personal coaching plans.    

Accountability: Personal development

• Take ownership of your agreed performance development plan (PD) objectives and enhance your own performance development and personal growth.
• Be open to cross-skilling to enhance prospects.
• All mandatory training and attestations must be completed within the timelines set by management.
• Stay abreast of market and economic trends and apply them in the working environment.

Education

• Further Education and Training Certificate (FETC): Business, Commerce and Management Studies (Required)