SVP & Head of Restructuring - Quality Assurance

Job Overview

The role sits within the Corporate Workout area. The role holder will support the Head of the team on restructuring, workout, recovery, liquidity, governance, capital controls and robust borrower management; all with a view to preserve value, safeguard the bank’s interests, optimize short-term liquidity, and obtain comprehensive, clear and transparent information to maximize present-value recoveries while protecting the bank’s legal, capital, regulatory and reputational position. This role is a restructuring and workout role, which requires Credit, Corporate Finance and Risk competencies, as decision-making is required on a cost-benefit / NPV basis and must be defended before Credit Committees, external auditors, regulators, ratings agencies, etc.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES

A. Distressed Asset Strategy, Restructuring & Resolution

• Lead the end-to-end management of distressed and impaired exposures, from early diagnosis and viability assessment through restructuring, settlement, enforcement, insolvency or exit, with the objective of maximizing risk-adjusted net recovery.

• Evaluate business reviews, financial models, cash flows, valuations, capital structures, security ranking, guarantor and sponsor support, and scenario sensitivities to determine credible recovery pathways.

• Structure and execute negotiated settlements, asset or debt sales, discounted payoffs, debt-for-equity or asset swaps and other workout solutions, while ensuring documentation, security perfection, conditions, covenants and repayments remain compliant with approved terms.

B. Credit Judgement, Financial Analysis & Governance

• Prepare clear, well-supported credit, settlement and recovery proposals for relevant committees, with recommendations grounded in borrower viability, credit soundness, governance requirements and available strategic alternatives.

• Compare recovery options using NPV, time-to-recover, funding and discount rates, legal and execution costs, collateral values, capital impact and scenario or sensitivity analysis.

• Apply strong knowledge of corporate, project and infrastructure finance structures, banking products, guarantees, EPC/O&M arrangements and enforcement dynamics, and provide disciplined monitoring and escalation of covenants, conditions, variances and material developments.

C. Insolvency, Provisioning & Regulatory Management

• Manage insolvency, receivership, restructuring and liquidation matters across applicable UAE, GCC and international jurisdictions, including DIFC and ADGM where relevant, with sound knowledge of moratoria, creditor rights and bankruptcy processes.

• Ensure timely and defensible risk classification, staging, provisioning and write-off decisions under IFRS 9, ECL and applicable CBUAE requirements, including DCF recovery assumptions, collateral valuation and Stage 3 treatment.

• Assess the impact of restructuring and recovery decisions on RWAs, capital, NPL ratio, Cost of Risk, PD and LGD, and represent or support the Bank in engagements with regulators, auditors, rating agencies and other external stakeholders.

D. Quality Assurance & Innovation

• Lead the Internal Quality Assurance framework for CRD, defining risk-based review coverage, sampling, review standards, issue-rating criteria and reporting to senior management.

• Perform independent thematic and case-level reviews across restructurings, non-performing assets, settlements, recoveries, collateral, legal actions, classification, staging and provisioning to assess decision quality and control effectiveness.

• Ensure compliance with CBUAE Credit Risk Management Standards, IFRS 9, internal credit policies, delegated authorities and applicable UAE and cross-border requirements; identify gaps early and drive regulator-defensible remediation.

• Challenge ECL and Stage 3 provision adequacy, including discounted cash flows, effective interest rates, recovery timing, collateral realisation, scenario assumptions, overlays, model limitations and data completeness.

• Assess the design and operating effectiveness of CRD governance, policies, controls, approvals and management information, supported by clear audit trails from analysis and approval through execution and outcome.

• Translate file-level exceptions into portfolio themes, root causes and forward-looking insights on asset-quality migration, concentrations, recovery performance, provisions, RWA, capital and profitability.

• Present concise, evidence-based QA conclusions and action plans to CRD leadership, Credit, Risk, Finance, Internal Audit, external auditors and regulators, and monitor sustainable closure of findings.

E. Controls, Data, Reporting & Transformation

• Own CRD policies, procedures, controls and delegated authorities, ensuring alignment with CBUAE regulations, CRMS, internal credit frameworks and applicable data-privacy requirements.

• Maintain complete and traceable records linking analysis, approval, execution and outcomes, supported by accurate portfolio, watchlist, provisioning and recovery data for audit, supervisory and management review.

• Deliver reliable MIS, regulatory submissions and timely escalation of material matters, while leading process, system, automation, AI and analytics enhancements across the distressed-credit lifecycle.

KEY COMPETENCIES & DOMAIN KNOWLEDGE

The successful candidate will demonstrate strong expertise across credit risk, restructuring, recovery, and complex corporate financing environments, including:

• Financial Analysis & Business Viability: Advanced financial statement analysis, leverage, liquidity and cash flow assessment, quality of earnings review, forecasting, stress testing, and forward-looking business viability evaluation.

• Corporate Structures & Security: Assessment of group structures, guarantee frameworks, intercompany dependencies, capital structures, security packages, creditor ranking, and cross-default/cross-collateralization arrangements.

• Restructuring & Recovery Economics: Strong understanding of DCF valuation, time value of money, recovery analysis, scenario modelling, sensitivity testing, NPV assessment, and restructuring option evaluation.

• Credit Risk & Provisioning: Expertise in creditworthiness assessment, early warning indicators, distressed credit analysis, IFRS 9/ECL methodologies, non-performing exposures, provisioning, post-restructuring monitoring, and risk-adjusted performance metrics.

• Banking Products & Project Finance: Working knowledge of corporate and investment banking products, project finance structures, infrastructure and concession-based financings, cash flow waterfalls, DSCR/LLCR metrics, facility structuring, completion risk, and security assignments.

• Strategic Judgement: Ability to assess complex and distressed situations, challenge assumptions, formulate restructuring strategies, and present robust recommendations to senior stakeholders and decision-making committees.

Minimum Requirements

• A post graduate degree in Finance, Economics or a relevant discipline.

• A professional qualification such as CFA, FRM, CA, ACA, etc.

• 25+ years of work experience in a financial institution, with 15+ years in core banking, credit, risk or restructuring across multiple credit cycles, both syndicate and bilateral lending.