Manager Risk Management (Commercial Rating & Underwriting)

At American Express, our culture is built on a 175-year history of innovation, shared values and Leadership Behaviors, and an unwavering commitment to back our customers, communities, and colleagues. As part of Team Amex, you'll experience this powerful backing with comprehensive support for your holistic well-being and many opportunities to learn new skills, develop as a leader, and grow your career.

Here, your voice and ideas matter, your work makes an impact, and together, you will help us define the future of American Express.

How will you make an impact in this role?

Commercial Rating and Underwriting (CRU) sits within the Risk and Information Management division and forms the institutional credit risk management function within American Express. The CRU team plays the critical role of assessing and managing the risk of institutional exposures across all business units within American Express, and in all regions globally.  Credit exposures are primarily generated through corporate and small business card programs, via merchant service relationships where non-delivery risk exists, and among the securities portfolio held for firm-wide liquidity.  CRU is led from Salt Lake City with regional teams in New York, London, Singapore, and Sydney.

In addition to determining the internal credit rating which drives the probability of default of each exposure, CRU also calculates the loss given default of these obligors while underwriting card programs. As a bank holding company, American Express must comply with the highest global banking standards set by Basel and implemented by the bank’s primarily regulatory, the Federal Reserve.  

Key Responsibilities:

Managers in CRU are responsible for rating and underwriting credit exposures in their assigned region, industry, and business line.  Fundamental analysis incorporates a thorough review of business, financial, industry and country risk coupled with support from internal and external rating model outputs.  Assessment includes understanding of the need for credit extension, profitability of the relationship and program structures. CRU managers interact with various constituents across the firm including front office sales, business unit risk partners, and credit administration to perform their critical role.

Minimum Qualifications:

• 4 years experience rating and / or underwriting at a leading financial institution or rating agency
• Bachelor’s degree in finance, accounting, economics, or statistics
• Expertise as a credit and underwriting decision maker dealing with commercial exposures ranging from small business or middle-market to large, multinational institutions
• Thorough understanding of fundamental financial analysis including the ability to review corporate financial statements to determine the ability of the obligor to honor its credit obligations
• Comfort with GAAP/IFRS accounting standards, corporate valuation, and forecasting
• Knowledge of how probability of default and loss given default determine economic capital
• Experience in determining appropriate credit capacity, structuring of facilities, and risk mitigation techniques
• Comfort with public agency ratings and supporting analysis
• Understanding of current macroeconomic trends and how to provide recommendations to improve the PD estimation based on the business cycle
• Experience preparing company-specific and industry-wide credit memorandums
• Excellent judgment in making sound rating and underwriting decisions to maximize profitability and mitigate risk
• Familiarity with banking regulations, particularly those imposed by Basel Committee on Banking Supervision
• Familiarity with Bank Based Underwriting
• Familiarity with global markets (foreign language ability a plus)
• Specific industry expertise in travel (airlines, cruise lines, hospitality), financial institutions, or public finance

Preferred Qualifications:

• Graduate degree with a finance or business emphasis, or Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation, is a plus

Salary Range: $80,000.00 to $155,000.00 annually + bonus + benefits

The above represents the expected salary range for this job requisition. Ultimately, in determining your pay, we’ll consider your location, experience, and other job-related factors.

We back you with benefits that support your holistic well-being so you can be and deliver your best. This means caring for you and your loved ones' physical, financial, and mental health, as well as providing the flexibility you need to thrive personally and professionally:

• Competitive base salaries 
• Bonus incentives 
• 6% Company Match on retirement savings plan 
• Free financial coaching and financial well-being support 
• Comprehensive medical, dental, vision, life insurance, and disability benefits 
• Flexible working model with hybrid, onsite or virtual arrangements depending on role and business need 
• 20+ weeks paid parental leave for all parents, regardless of gender, offered for pregnancy, adoption or surrogacy 
• Free access to global on-site wellness centers staffed with nurses and doctors (depending on location) 
• Free and confidential counseling support through our Healthy Minds program 
• Career development and training opportunities