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?

Overview of The Department

Commercial Rating and Underwriting (CRU) sits within the Credit and Fraud Risk Management (CFR) 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, India and Sydney.

In addition to determining the internal credit rating which drives the probability of default of each exposure, CRU also underwrites Amex’s large commercial card programs. As a bank holding company, American Express must comply with the highest global banking standards set by Basel and implemented by our primary regulator, the Federal Reserve.  

 

Job Responsibilities

Directors in CRU are responsible for overseeing managers who rate 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 directors interact with various constituents across the firm including front office sales, business unit risk partners, and credit administration to perform their critical role. 

 

Desired Skills:

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. Lead various projects to meet heightened standards for Category 2 bank, as issued by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency on regulatory capital rule and liquidity coverage ratio rule Proven ability to influence others to achieve complex objectives against tight deadlines 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 Review of rating methodology in operating manual in English and Chinese Track record of collaborating and building relationships across organization Ability to lead large scale, time sensitive, enterprise-wide projects through to successful completion

Qualifications:

Minimum 10 years’ experience in rating and / or underwriting at a leading financial institution or rating agency Experience in managing, training and mentoring direct reports Bachelor’s degree from a top tier university in finance, accounting, economics, or statistics Proficiency in English and Chinese (Mandarin)  Good knowledge on the U.S banking regulations, particularly those imposed by Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. 

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  Support for financial-well-being and retirement  Comprehensive medical, dental, vision, life insurance, and disability benefits (depending on location)  Flexible working model with hybrid, onsite or virtual arrangements depending on role and business need  Generous paid parental leave policies (depending on your location)  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

Offer of employment with American Express is conditioned upon the successful completion of a background verification check, subject to applicable laws and regulations.