Head of Credit, Emerging Corporates

About the Role
This role is focused on leading and managing the credit underwriting and portfolio monitoring functions for the Emerging Corporate segments. You will oversee customers with an annual turnover ranging from AED 100 million to AED 500 million and exposure up to AED 125 million. The primary goal is to ensure sound credit decisions, disciplined portfolio oversight, timely risk identification, and effective stakeholder engagement, all aligned with the company's risk appetite, credit policies, delegated authorities, and relevant regulatory requirements. You will support the Head of Business Banking Credit in maintaining asset quality and developing the end-to-end credit risk framework for the assigned segments, including judgemental and programme-based lending, portfolio analytics, policy implementation, process enhancement, and team capability development.

Principal Accountabilities

• Lead the end-to-end credit appraisal and underwriting process for SME and Emerging Corporate proposals within the defined portfolio scope.
• Ensure proposals are complete, accurate, and supported by appropriate financial, account conduct, industry, management, security, and due-diligence analysis.
• Assess obligor and group risk, repayment capacity, facility structure, collateral, covenants, pricing adequacy, and key downside risks.
• Ensure credit recommendations clearly articulate the request, rationale, key risks, mitigants, policy exceptions, and conditions of approval.
• Approve or recommend credit proposals in accordance with delegated authority, and escalate proposals to the appropriate sanctioning authority where required.
• Oversee annual reviews, interim reviews, renewals, amendments, waivers, deferrals, and other credit actions to ensure timely and robust decision-making.
• Promote consistent application of credit standards across judgemental, programme, and scorecard-based lending.
• Own the portfolio monitoring framework for the assigned SME and Emerging Corporate portfolios and maintain effective oversight of asset quality.
• Monitor early warning indicators, excesses, past dues, covenant breaches, deterioration in account conduct, adverse market developments, and other emerging risks.
• Ensure timely identification, classification, escalation, and action planning for weak or deteriorating credits, in coordination with Coverage and relevant control functions.
• Conduct periodic portfolio reviews, risk segmentation, concentration analysis, vintage and trend analysis, stress testing, and thematic reviews.
• Recommend and track risk mitigation actions at customer, sector, product, and sub-segment level.
• Ensure timely completion of annual reviews and ongoing monitoring requirements, with appropriate controls over overdue reviews and monitoring exceptions.
• Provide portfolio-level risk analytics, management information, and periodic updates to the relevant credit and portfolio governance committees.
• Partner with Business Banking and Emerging Corporate Coverage teams while maintaining independent and objective credit judgement.
• Act as the primary credit risk point of contact for the assigned segments and liaise with Product, Portfolio Management, Legal, Compliance, Operations, Finance, ERM, and Collections/Remedial teams as required.
• Provide clear and constructive guidance on facility structuring, information requirements, policy interpretation, and risk mitigation.
• Participate in customer meetings where senior credit input is required, including discussions with owners, finance directors, CFOs, and other authorized representatives.
• Support the Head of Business Banking Credit in management reporting, committee submissions, regulatory or audit responses, and special projects.
• Lead, organize, and supervise the Emerging Corporate Credit underwriting and portfolio monitoring teams.
• Set clear objectives, service standards, quality expectations, and accountability for team members.
• Monitor workload, productivity, turnaround time, decision quality, and control effectiveness, and implement corrective actions where required.
• Coach and develop team members through structured feedback, technical guidance, succession planning, and targeted capability building.

Requirements
Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics, Business Administration, or a related discipline.
• Master’s degree and/or a relevant professional qualification in banking, credit, or risk management is preferred.
• Typically 12+ years of relevant banking experience, with substantial experience in corporate, commercial, SME, or Emerging Corporate credit underwriting and portfolio management.
• Proven experience in leading credit teams and handling complex credit proposals at a senior level.
• Strong understanding of UAE banking practices, regulatory expectations, credit documentation, collateral structures, and sector risks.