Credit Risk Policy & Portfolio Monitoring

Job description

Position Summary We are a BNM-licensed Malaysian digital bank focused on responsible lending to underserved retail and SME segments. We are looking for an experienced Credit Risk professional to join our Risk Management team. You will design and own the credit policies and rules that govern our lending, build and maintain expert judgement-based scorecards and risk rating frameworks for SME and corporate borrowers, and work closely with the underwriting team to ensure credit assessments are rigorous and well-documented. You will also maintain portfolio monitoring and reporting to keep leadership informed of portfolio health. This role suits a credit professional with a strong judgement background who is comfortable in discretionary lending environments and takes pride in well-reasoned, clearly written policy work. Key Responsibilities 1. Credit Policy & Rule Design • Design, document, and maintain credit rules, risk acceptance criteria, and underwriting standards for SME and corporate lending, ensuring alignment with BNM regulations and the bank’s risk appetite. • Translate credit risk strategy into structured policy and decisioning logic; validate implementation through UAT prior to go-live. • Maintain the credit policy register — tracking review cycles, version history, and approval status. • Identify gaps between policy intent and operational execution; draft targeted amendments and shepherd them through governance and approval channels. • Prepare policy and procedure documents for Credit Committee review, internal audit, and regulatory inspection. • Collaborate with Product, Compliance, Operations, and Legal to ensure policy changes are reflected across systems and processes. 2. SME & Corporate Scorecard Development & Maintenance • Design and maintain expert judgement-based credit scorecards and internal risk rating frameworks for SME and corporate borrowers, drawing on the 5 Cs to define and weight scoring factors. • Calibrate scoring factors using financial ratio analysis (DSCR, leverage, liquidity), qualitative assessments (management quality, industry outlook, customer concentration), and external benchmarks where available. • Monitor scorecard performance through rating migration, grade concentration trends, override rates, and watchlist movement; recommend recalibration where warranted . • Support model governance activities — monitoring reports, back-testing documentation, and validation preparation — consistent with the bank’s Model Risk Management Policy. • Liaise with underwriting and business teams to gather qualitative inputs and ground-truth scorecard assumptions. 3. Underwriter Collaboration & Credit Assessment Support • Work closely with the underwriting team to ensure credit policies and scorecards are clearly understood and consistently applied. • Review and challenge credit applications and underwriting decisions, flagging deviations from approved policy. • Develop guidance notes and worked examples to help underwriters navigate edge cases and discretionary assessments. • Capture underwriter feedback on policy gaps and use it to drive iterative improvements to the credit framework. 4. Portfolio Monitoring & Reporting • Produce regular portfolio monitoring reports covering approval rates, utilisation, delinquency, vintage performance, roll rates, and concentration risk. • Monitor portfolio triggers and EWS indicators; escalate breaches promptly with supporting analysis and recommended action plans. • Conduct periodic portfolio reviews to identify emerging trends; translate findings into adjustments to credit policy or scorecard weightings. • Produce clear portfolio reports giving leadership timely visibility of portfolio health, watchlist movement, and concentration trends. 5. Regulatory Reporting & Stakeholder Coordination • Prepare materials for Credit Committee, RMC, and Board reporting, synthesising portfolio and policy data into clear, well-evidenced narratives. • Support BNM regulatory submissions and credit risk data queries. • Engage with Finance, Collections, Business Banking, and Operations to ensure reporting consistency and alignment on portfolio metrics. Requirements & Qualifications Education • Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Finance , Business, Economics, Accounting, or a related discipline. Quantitative backgrounds are equally welcome. Experience • Minimum 5 years of credit risk experience, with hands-on exposure to credit policy writing, SME or corporate credit assessment, or the design of judgemental credit scorecards and risk rating frameworks. • Experience with SME or corporate credit products is strongly preferred; familiarity with CCRIS/CTOS, BNM credit risk guidelines, and financial statement analysis is a clear advantage. • Exposure to credit assessment template configuration or UAT is an advantage. • Able to operate independently, managing multiple workstreams and delivering quality output without close supervision. Technical Skills • Credit Policy & Rules: Able to write precise, unambiguous credit policy and decisioning rules suitable for implementation in an underwriting framework. • Scorecard & Risk Rating Design: Experience designing expert judgement-based scorecards or risk rating frameworks for commercial borrowers; able to select and weight factors, calibrate against benchmarks, and document methodology for governance purposes. • Financial Analysis: Able to read and interpret financial statements and derive credit-relevant insights; comfortable spreading financials and computing credit ratios. Excel proficiency expected; SQL or Python a plus. • BNM Regulatory Knowledge: Working knowledge of BNM credit risk policies and guidelines, including CCRIS/CTOS and credit risk reporting requirements. • Written Communication: Able to produce well-reasoned credit narratives, policy documents, and committee papers clearly and independently. Soft Skills & Culture Fit • Detail-Oriented: You do not let ambiguity slide in a policy document or credit assessment. • Collaborative: You work well with underwriters and business teams and understand that good policy only works if the people using it trust it. • Structured Thinker: You can translate complex credit logic into clear, implementable rules. • Proactive: You surface issues early and drive decisions rather than waiting to be directed. • Mission-Driven: Genuinely interested in responsible lending to Malaysia’s underserved SME and retail segments. What’s In It For You? • The opportunity to build credit risk infrastructure at one of Malaysia’s earliest licensed digital banks. • Real ownership — you will design the credit rules and scorecards that determine who gets access to financing. • A flat, collaborative culture where good ideas are heard regardless of seniority. • Meaningful work: responsible lending to underserved SME and retail segments in Malaysia. • A fast-moving environment where you will grow across policy design, scorecard development, and credit judgement simultaneously. JR00000639