Analyst - Documentary Trade

Job Title: CTS Analyst – Documentary Trade
Location: London
Department: Client & Transaction Services, Wholesale Banking
Employment Type: Permanent
Work Pattern: Full-Time

Overview:

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 role also requires supporting other CTS verticals and their customers as and when required.
The purpose of this role is to ensure an excellent service to Bank ABC’s customers managing directly day to day transactions, queries, complaints, managing service levels and provide full support of Bank’s digital transformation. This includes support for implementing and driving the Lean led transformation of CTS in line with CTS Strategy to ensure an excellent service delivered consistently to the internal and external customers of Wholesale Banking.
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.

What You Will Be Doing:

Core role

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 extends to import letters of credit, documentary collections, guarantees and standby letters of credit, any facilities for the issuance of such instruments. The role also extends to the products of other CTS verticals such as Cash Management, Lending & Distribution, Supply Chain Finance and Forfaiting with the support from the respective verticals as you follow your client across the product verticals.

This being an Analyst role, the job holder will manage a balanced portfolio of customers, with a mix of reasonably straight-forward transactions and some challenging cases and relationships to help them grow in the role.

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 to ensure prompt on‑boarding & 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 finalise 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 utilisation 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.
• As may be required from time to time depending on the Bank’s needs, work flexibly in order to support projects/requirements/initiatives, perform systems testing, resolve any external or internal issues or attend to any other ad hoc requirements.

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 with a proactive approach to learn the various products and processes.
• 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 identify opportunities to improve Bank ABC's service and/or its internal processes and, depending on their level of skill and experience, work on ensuring that those improvements are delivered.
• The role holder will develop their own skills through working with and across the CTS verticals, and undergoing suitable training both internal and external (including relevant external qualifications) , from time to time. They will also help other members of the CTS team to gain skill and experience.

Candidate Specification :

• A good understanding of wholesale banking products, in particular trade finance products (e.g. Import and Export LCs, Guarantees, Collections etc), and the end-to-end processes involved in delivering those products to the Bank’s clients will be an advantage.
• Exposure to transaction/ facility structuring
• An understanding of credit, compliance and operational requirements for the relevant products will be an advantage.
• Solid computer skills with capability to use spreadsheets, graphic and presentation packages to review and create professional materials will be an advantage.
• Excellent understanding of processes and streamlining thereof and problem-solving methodologies (i.e. Lean Six Sigma).
• Suitably educated. Relevant degrees / certifications / professional qualifications may be advantageous (Qualifications such as CITF, DCCS, CSDG are preferable).
• Minimum of five years’ banking experience, including in a similar Documentary Trade role, but additionally extending to Documentary Trade operations.
• Good experience of trade finance operations and/or transaction structuring and execution is advantageous.
• Experience in Middle office customer facing role will be an advantage
• Customer service orientation
• Strong oral and written communication skills.
• Ability to maintain integrity, confidentiality and diplomacy under all circumstances.
• Ability to remain calm, work under pressure and meet tight deadlines.
• Good organization, coordination and follow-up skills.
• Attention to detail.
• Growth mindset. CTS is a training ground for bankers who want to grow and develop their skills, with a view to potential roles in Coverage or Product Sales teams or other areas of the Bank.
• Strong existing internal relationships with relevant departments will be an advantage.

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.

We welcome applications from people with disabilities and are committed to providing reasonable adjustments, where necessary, to make interviews and jobs more accessible. Should you have any difficulty during the recruitment process, require any reasonable adjustments or an application to Access to work please contact the recruitment lead.