Careers

Position: Senior Credit Rating Analyst – Financial Institutions and/or Corporates

Capital Intelligence Ratings (CI Ratings) is looking to recruit a senior credit analyst to support the expansion of its rating activities.

Job Overview

The primary role of credit analysts is to assess and monitor the creditworthiness of a portfolio of rated entities and their debt instruments. This includes leading meetings with rated entities, preparing credit rating reports, making rating recommendations, and actively participating in rating committees. Rated entities include companies, banks, and non-bank financial institutions (NBFIs) in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, as well as Central Europe and Asia.

Responsibilites

The following responsibility list is issued for guidance and is not exhaustive. The successful candidate will be responsible for:

• Analysing, evaluating, and monitoring the credit quality of corporates and/or financial institutions (banks and NBFIs) in accordance with CI’s credit rating methodologies, policies and procedures.
• Preparing credit rating reports and proposing rating actions in a timely manner.
• Presenting the rationale for rating recommendations to internal credit rating committees.
• Reviewing all ratings of issuers and debt instruments (such as bonds and sukuk) within a portfolio at least once annually and whenever credit quality has or is expected to change.
• Monitoring news, company announcements, business developments and other material events, and assessing the impact on the industries and entities within a portfolio.
• Actively participating in CI Ratings’ internal credit rating committees and methodology development teams.
• Conducting comprehensive meetings with rated corporates and banks.
• Communicating ratings, rating rationales, and rating criteria to the senior management of rated entities.
• Writing and publishing rating action announcements and insightful sector-specific commentaries.
• Responding to external queries from subscribers, investors, and the media regarding CI Ratings’ analytical approach and rating opinions.
• Working as the secondary analyst for other analysts’ coverage, including reviewing the draft reports of colleagues prior to publication.

Requirements

Essential

• In-depth knowledge of bank or corporate credit risk, financial statement analysis, and cashflow analysis, including the ability to derive and analyse key financial risk metrics and ratios from financial statements.
• At least 10-15 years of relevant experience in credit research or financial analysis from a credit rating agency, bank, audit firm or similar organisation.
• Fluent spoken and written English, with excellent report writing skills.
• Excellent communication and inter-personal skills, including the ability and maturity to communicate with the senior management of banks and corporates and to present CI Ratings externally in a credible and professional manner.
• Efficient organizational and planning capacities, including the ability to manage multiple tasks and deadlines simultaneously.
• Ability to work independently, as well as being a good team player.
• Undergraduate or postgraduate degree, preferably in a numerical discipline (e.g. economics, finance, business administration, accounting).
• Proficient in PC applications, including Microsoft Word and Excel.
• Willingness and ability to travel overseas – including to the Middle East and other emerging markets – for up to 20 days per year (with individual trips typically lasting 3-5 days).
• General interest in international finance and emerging markets.

Beneficial (but not essential)

• Strong financial modelling and other quantitative skills.
• Fluency in other languages (particularly Arabic or French).
• Good understanding of economic and financial conditions and the general risk landscape in the MENA region.
• Knowledge of Islamic finance.
• A financial based professional qualification (e.g. CFA).

About Capital Intelligence Ratings

CI Ratings has been in the ratings business for 40 years and rates hundreds of institutions in Europe, Asia, and the MENA region.

CI Ratings is regulated as a credit rating agency by the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) and formally recognised as an External Credit Assessment Institution (ECAI) in the EU and in a number of countries in the MENA region.

CI Ratings offers a competitive remuneration and benefits package.

If you are interested in the above position please send your CV together with a short covering letter stating your suitability for the role, salary expectations, and current notice period to recruitment@ciratings.com

Kindly note that only shortlisted applicants will be notified.