Documentary Trade Assistant Manager 12 Month FTC

Job Purpose

This role falls in the Documentary Trade vertical in Client & Transaction Services. For the avoidance of doubt, Documentary Trade includes the product suite of Documentary Credits, Collections & Guarantees.

The job holder will execute transactions, liaise with external and internal stakeholders, answer queries, resolve complaints, and assist relevant Wholesale Banking colleagues with the day-to-day work required to support Bank ABC s business.

Responsibilities, Accountabilities & Deliverables

This role is responsible for delivering services direct to clients, thereby supporting the work of the Wholesale Banking Coverage and Product Sales teams. This must be done in a consistent and properly controlled manner, working in close collaboration with other internal departments and in compliance with relevant procedures.

There is a large focus on Bank ABC s core product of advising and confirming export letters of credit. This involves the handling of repeat transactions for relevant customers in the role holder s portfolio, as well as ad hoc transactions as allocated to the role holder on an ongoing basis. There is considerable liaison with beneficiaries of letters of credit, as well as internal handling of queries relating to operational matters and any financial crime-related questions or concerns.

The role also extends to import letters of credit, documentary collections, guarantees and standby letters of credit and any facilities for the issuance of such instruments. These are typically less frequent but may be more complicated than export letter of credit transactions.

This being an Assistant Manager role, the job holder will manage an extensive portfolio of work including complicated transactions and significant customers.

As part of their core daily responsibilities under the Documentary Trade vertical, the job holder will:

• Directly support letter of credit beneficiaries and other customers and relevant non-customers day to day. This includes answering their queries, providing updates, attending meetings, solving problems, and generally building a strong relationship with them. This work is done alongside and in support of the relevant corporate coverage RM, or independently where there is no such RM.
• Help colleagues in the Wholesale Banking Coverage and Product Sales teams with providing direct support to customers.
• Manage priorities and deliver services to Bank ABC s customers through:
  • excellent collaboration within CTS;
  • ongoing coordination with the Operations, Business Financial Crime, Financial Crime Operations, Credit Administration, Legal, Compliance, Operational Support and other departments as appropriate;
  • preparing and/or reviewing relevant management information and monitoring service levels; and
  • taking part in periodic Service Quality Meetings to resolve any service issues.
• Act as focal point for internal queries to ensure smooth and efficient collaboration.
• Perform checks, submit instructions, and obtain approvals through Bank ABC s systems as required for delivery of services (TAPS tickets, PDC checks, Regulatory Risk approvals and Daily Commitments approvals as relevant).
• Arrange for any other approvals required for facilities / transactions / drawdowns as may be required.
• Assist with setting up or updating SWIFT RMA connections as may be required to facilitate business.
• Coordinate with Clients, CDD specialists and Operational Support to ensure prompt on boarding and periodic review of clients.
• Onboard customers onto our relevant digital systems and provide initial training and on-going support as required, referring any technical issues to agreed support functions.
• Structure and execute new transactions. This involves working with Coverage RMs / Product Sales where relevant, driving compliance with timelines and SLAs, coordinating with customers and other internal and external parties, and ensuring all credit, compliance and other internal requirements are met. More particularly, this work includes:
  • Implementing confidentiality agreements, working on term sheets, supporting Coverage RMs / Product Sales with relevant aspects of credit applications, and noting significant credit approval requirements to ensure due compliance in execution.
  • Working on facility agreements, whether drafting standard agreements (using suitable templates), collaborating with lawyers on bespoke agreements, liaising with the customer and internal stakeholders in order to finalize the agreement, and obtaining relevant internal sign-offs and customer agreement.
  • Preparing notifications of new commitment (or equivalents), obtaining internal sign-off, updating Operations accordingly, and taking any other practical steps required in order to get to first utilization of the relevant facility.
  • Preparing deal summaries / key features sheets and the like for the sake of good order.
• Create and maintain business and customer information. This includes among other things the maintenance of:
  • standard pricing/rates/tariffs as directed by WB Coverage / Product Sales;
  • standing instructions and agreed pricing for specific customers; and
  • customer contact details and other particulars, for example Client Short Names (CSNs).
• Support WB Coverage and Product Sales teams in the monitoring of transactions, facilities and/or customers and escalation of any issues.
• Track, monitor, identify and refer prospect beneficiaries to Relationship Managers (i.e. repeat transactors)
• Resolve issues raised by Operations or other departments, for example the non receipt of funds, problems with payments and issues with reconciliation.
• Help Bank ABC grow its business by ensuring that all applicable audit, risk, and compliance requirements are met. This includes, among other things:

• meeting the requirements of the UK Financial Services Compensation Scheme ( FSCS ) and its French equivalent, the FGDR;
• Supporting the Bank s designated Complaints Officer in the reporting and handling customer complaints;
• reviewing and discounting/escalating any transactional red flags identified by other departments (or by the job holder / other colleagues in CTS);
• raising internal suspicious activity reports; and
• raising any operational risk events and taking part in their investigation and resolution.

In the course of working with customers and relevant non-customers day to day, the job holder may become aware of opportunities to provide further services, in which case they will raise those opportunities to front office colleagues in Wholesale Banking for further investigation.

Wider CTS collaboration

Where customers anchored in the Documentary Trade vertical take up products falling outside that vertical, the job holder will continue to support those customers. This will ensure the customer maintains a single point of contact and day to day support.

The job holder will draw on expertise and support from colleagues in the relevant other CTS verticals to a greater or lesser extent as may be required to ensure a consistent service and due compliance with all external and internal requirements. The job holder will similarly support colleagues in other CTS verticals.

As part of the work falling outside the Documentary Trade vertical in which the job holder may engage from time to time, the job holder will among other things:

• Perform similar tasks to those in the core role mentioned above, but in relation to products with which the job holder may be less familiar. Close collaboration with colleagues in other CTS verticals will be required.
• Prepare relevant credit / administrative applications in the Credit Management System from a business perspective (i.e. not credit analysis). This could be in support of a relationship client (in conjunction with an RM) or for a transactional counterparty.
• Open customer accounts. This includes:
  • all external account opening formalities, including the collation, and checking of customer documents as required; and
  • all internal processes, including ABC Digital onboarding.

The role holder will develop their own skills through working with and across the CTS verticals, and undergoing suitable training, from time to time. They will also help other members of the CTS team to gain skill and experience.

Knowledge

• Good in-depth understanding of wholesale banking products, in particular trade finance products, and the end-to-end processes involved in delivering those products to the Bank s clients.
• Good understanding on transaction/ facility structuring
• Good understanding of credit, compliance, and operational requirements for the relevant products.
• Solid computer skills with capability to use spreadsheets, graphic and presentation packages to review and create professional materials will be an advantage.

Experience

• At least three to seven years banking experience, including in a similar role, but additionally extending to other areas of banking such as operations or compliance.
• Good experience of trade finance operations and/or transaction structuring and execution is advantageous.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Bank ABC is committed to the principles of equal employment opportunity for all employees and applicants and, in accordance with applicable laws, does not discriminate on the basis of sex, gender identity, gender expression, race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, age, marital status, disability, medical condition, sexual orientation, or on any other basis prohibited by law.