Trade Finance Advisor

Overview

Advising, Confirmation, Negotiation/Examination and Settlement of Letter of Credit (LC); and Documentary Collections.

Reports directly to the Director, Trade Finance; possesses letter of credit and documentary collection expertise; performs client facing and consulting roles; develop and maintain transaction client relationships; provide advisory services to clients in the structuring and development of documentary requirements; identify and mitigate all associated and related risks; resolve problem issues and provide solutions; assist clients in the proper preparation of documents for settlement submission; examine and negotiate documents for compliance to letter of credit terms and conditions; facilitate the forwarding of documents to foreign banks for furtherance of the payment collection process; offer and facilitate financing by employing bills discounting and bills purchasing product methodologies; settle and pay letter of credit and documentary credit bills; identify, assess, monitor screening, investigate, escalate and make disposition about compliance matters in relation to OFAC Sanctions, BSA/AML Transaction Monitoring, BIS Anti-Boycott Regulations; establish, manage and maintain partner bank relationships; provide client and regulatory reporting and data; educate, guide and collaborate with internal and external stakeholders on trade finance products; and develop and maintain visibility in the trade finance industry.

Responsibilities
• Work independently with general guidance from the Director, Trade Finance.
• Review standby, imports and export letters of credit issued by FCB or received from other domestic or foreign banks. This includes a review of the terms and conditions of the letter of credit to make certain it is workable and neutral.
• Identify anomalous terms and/or irregular/prohibited languages on the letter of credit and mitigate the associated risk for the client and the bank.
• Hold calls/meetings with clients to interpret terms and conditions of the letter of credit; compliance with the documentary requirements; and provide guidance on letter of credit terms to avoid issues and problems in collecting the proceeds or settlement.
• Examine commercial documents, legal documents, transport documents, title documents, insurance documents ... etc. against the letter of credit terms and conditions to ensure adherence. Work with clients to cure or resolve discrepancies in their documents to expedite and assure receipt of their payments/settlements.
• Offer, sign-up and facilitate trade financing solutions to clients through bills discounting and bills purchasing.
• Review and handle amendments of letters of credit. This includes the review of the amendments received from the other domestic/foreign issuing banks; interpret the requested changes; make certain the terms and conditions are executed correctly; and communicate the revisions to the client and work with them to ensure favorable terms are obtained.
• Handle and facilitate Documentary Collection processes and settlements including risk mitigation and problem solving.
• Structure SWIFT messages to communicate with partner banks and correspondent banks on letter of credit terms and conditions or to respond to related inquiries.
• Work closely with internal stakeholders such as the Relationship Team, Risk Group, Compliance, Legal, Credit Administration, Accounting, Finance, Loans and others to address and resolve complex issues related to letters of credit. This includes the reviews for BSA/AML, Anti-Boycott, Sanctions and OFAC violations.
• Participate in departmental and bank wide initiatives and projects.
• Any additional tasks assigned by Trade Finance management.


Qualifications

Bachelor's Degree and 2 years of experience in Trade Finance OR High School Diploma or GED and 6 years of experience in Trade Finance

Preferred Qualifications:

Excellent Trade Finance and financial service background required, with over 5+ years in Trade Finance at a financial institution.
Bachelor's degree or equivalent work experience.
Thorough knowledge of international rules and practices (UCP600, ISP98, URDG758, URR 725, URC 522)
Through knowledge of INCOTERMS.
Excellent leadership skills.
Excellent customer service skills and relationship skills.
Excellent planning, multi-tasking and organization skills.
Excellent problem solving and critical thinking skills.
Customer-focused with excellent interpersonal skills.
Excellent verbal and written communications skills and ability to communicate and influence at an appropriate level.
Proactive and self-motivated with ability to work independently with minimal supervision and under tight deadlines.
Proven ability to meet new challenges, assimilate new information and to influence people through maturity of approach.
Ability to make sound and reliable decisions under supervision.
Ability to work independently with no supervision from the manager.

The base pay for this position is generally between $120,000.00 and $140,000.00. Actual starting base pay will be determined based on skills, experience, location, and other non-discriminatory factors permitted by law. For some roles, total compensation may also include variable incentives, bonuses, benefits, and/or other awards as outlined in the offer of employment.

Benefits are an integral part of total rewards and First Citizens Bank is committed to providing a competitive, thoughtfully designed and quality benefits program to meet the needs of our associates. More information can be found at