Senior Merchant Underwriter

About the job

The primary focus of the Senior Merchant Underwriter is to review, analyze and make confident credit risk decisions and recommendations for merchant applications and regarding existing merchants. The ideal candidate for this position is a qualified and experienced credit underwriter with a history of reviewing travel, airline and cruise business models.

The successful candidate will also have the ability to understand and apply best practices guidelines; collect and analyze exposure and loss data; respond efficiently and effectively to internal and external requests; maintain all organizational and professional ethical standards; have the ability to spot trends in monitoring and reporting; and communicate results of analysis to business customers and senior management, all while actively advocating and monitoring compliance.

Key Responsibilities :

Credit Risk Assessment:

• Conduct detailed credit analysis of airline, travel and or cruise operators, including financial statement analysis, cash flow projections, and liquidity assessments.
• Perform ongoing monitoring of credit exposure and adjust credit terms as necessary.
• Financial Analysis:
• Analyze key financial indicators such as profitability, debt levels, and operating margins.
• Assess market trends and industry conditions that may impact the creditworthiness of our merchants.
• Prepare detailed credit reports and present findings to senior management.

Risk Mitigation:

• Develop and implement strategies to mitigate credit risk, including recommending collateral requirements or processing limits.
• Monitor payment behaviors and take appropriate action in cases of payment delays or defaults.

Decision Making:

• Approve or decline applications within designated authority limits.
• Provide recommendations for approvals to higher management when outside of own approval limits.
• Work closely with risk monitoring team to ensure alignment of credit decisions with transaction processing.

Relationship Management:

• Build and maintain strong relationships with key stakeholders, including merchants, banks, and internal teams.
• Serve as a point of contact for commercial teams regarding risk-related inquiries and issues.

Compliance and Reporting:

• Ensure all underwriting activities comply with company policies, industry regulations, and legal requirements.
• Maintain accurate records of credit decisions and ensure proper documentation of all underwriting activities.
• Generate regular reports on credit performance, risk exposure, and underwriting activities for senior management.