AVP Credit Risk Management

Reporting to the Chief Risk Officer, the AVP Credit Risk Management is responsible for the independent oversight of all credit risk within Manulife Bank. This role is a dynamic leadership position accountable for facilitating the establishment of the Bank’s risk appetite for residential, retail, specialized lending and commercial credit risk, supporting the Bank’s strategic growth priorities within the established risk appetite, co-leading product development and delivery, providing consultative risk oversight to the Lines of Business, and the promotion of a risk-aware culture. The incumbent is also responsible for credit adjudication, monitoring portfolio credit quality and associated reporting, collections oversight, the development and maintenance of enabling credit policies and standards as well as overall underwriting quality assurance

The incumbent will be responsible for the overall management of the department, manages workflows and a staff of risk professionals. The incumbent is also member of the Bank Credit Risk Committee. The incumbent will act as the CROs proxy for the Assets and Liabilities Committee, Pricing Committee, Executive Risk Committee and any escalations or approvals when the CRO is not available.

Key Accountabilities:

Residential and Retail Portfolio

• Actively support and assist in the development and execution of the Bank’s strategic priorities, including the establishment, and periodic review of the Bank’s risk appetite for residential and retail credit risk. Provide timely, appropriate risk input to all residential & retail credit growth initiatives.
• Proactively develop and maintain economic, market and competitive intelligence impacting the outlook for residential and retail credit, and the consequent implications for the underlying credit risk.
• Collaborate and participate with the Lines of Business on all new residential and retail credit product development initiatives.
• Provide consultative credit risk oversight to the specific Lines of Business including, residential mortgage underwriting, collections, and credit card origination and account management strategies.
• Promote a risk-aware culture that encourages and rewards desired risk outcomes and quality of decision making. Provide constructive challenge, advice, and guidance on residential and retail credit risk issues.

Specialized Lending Portfolio

• Establish, and periodically review the Bank’s risk appetite for specialized lending credit risk.
• Co-lead with the Lines of Business all new specialized lending credit product development initiatives. Ensure up to date competitor and market knowledge is known and incorporated into strategic decisions.
• Provide active credit risk oversight to the specific Lines of Business including, commercial real estate, specialized lending, and Multi-Unit Residential (MUR).
• As the owner of specialized lending credit policies and standards, ensure they are consistent with the Bank’s strategy and risk appetite and align with market leading practices. Review and asses changing strategic and economic circumstances, as well as applicable regulatory and legislative changes impacting the Bank’s operating standards, procedures and guidelines and ensure that policies and standards are updated accordingly.
• Maintain and enhance the Bank’s risk rating system for specialized lending. Review and revise the overarching risk rating system framework and philosophy, including the adoption of a dual rating system and underlying scorecards for specific facility types, industry and lending products
• In conjunction with Finance, develop and maintain risk sensitive methodologies for developing estimates of ‘Expected Credit Losses’ for the purpose of booking appropriate provisions for credit losses in the portfolio.
• Promote a risk-aware culture that encourages and rewards desired risk outcomes and quality of decision making. Provide constructive challenge, advice, and guidance on all aspects of specialized lending.

Credit Risk Management

• Monitor the credit risk characteristics of the portfolio and report and make recommendations on credit-related issues to the Chief Risk Officer and senior management (example Bank Leadership Team, Manulife Bank Executive Risk Committee and Bank Board of Directors).
• As custodian, ensure credit policies and standards are consistent with the Bank’s strategy and risk appetite and align with expected market practices. Review and asses changing strategic and economic circumstances, as well as applicable regulatory and legislative changes impacting the Bank’s operating standards, procedures and guidelines and ensure that policies and standards are updated accordingly.
• Apply your deep credit risk expertise, financial acumen and experience in the review and analysis of applications to ensure compliance with the company’s policies and standards and regulatory requirements. Ensure the analysis demonstrates an appropriate risk/reward trade-off with appropriate mitigation as needed.
• Responsible for all credit loss mitigation activities of the Bank, which include monitor and adjustment of specific reserves, foreclosure proceedings and outsourced functions with respect to legal files.
• Lead a team responsible for post-funding loan review and assessment of underwriting and adjudication quality through the evaluation of documentation, compliance to company policy, and adherence to all regulatory guidelines. Build and maintain relationships and work collaboratively with all Lines of Business to analyze root causes, patterns or trends in order to assist in the development and implementation of recommended solutions to problems uncovered during the loan review process.
• Exercise discretionary lending limits as delegated to approve and decision credit applications in line with the Bank’s risk appetite.
• Lead a team of independent specialized lending adjudicators. Act as a point for file escalations and suggest changes to the structuring of transactions to strengthen the company’s position as needed. Provide field guidance on deal structure with a view to ensuring a smooth authorization process.
• Oversee the effective and on-going credit risk monitoring of files within the portfolio, specifically the completion of annual reviews ensuring appropriate and timely information is obtained such that the Bank can appropriately monitor the on-going health of the specialized lending portfolio.
• Chair the ‘Watchlist Committee’ ensuring that at-risk accounts receive appropriate enhanced monitoring, and where necessary, intervention occurs in a timely matter to protect the Bank’s interests in work-out and insolvency situations, including recommending specific reserves and write-offs where necessary.
• Act as the primary risk relationship manager with various vendors (e.g. Equifax), default insurers (e.g. CMHC, CG, GE), and support government stakeholder relationship managers (as required) such as OSFI and CBA.

Leadership & Building a High Performing Team

• Inspire, coach, guide and actively engage employees; motivate and encourage staff Manage performance, providing formal and informal feedback and coaching. Establish accountabilities and performance standards.
• Build talent capability and engage employees through focused career discussions as well as providing professional development opportunities.
• Role model critical behaviors to enhance the customer experience.
• Demonstrate inclusive behaviors and provide opportunities to collaborate across teams.

Job Requirements

• 15 years of relevant bank related consumer credit experience
• University degree in Finance or Business
• Expert knowledge of residential and retail lending practices and products
• Excellent written and oral communication skills
• Expert knowledge of Bank loan policies and procedures
• Knowledge of business financial statements
• Strong leadership skills
• Highly developed negotiating skills
• Sound knowledge of regulatory statutes (ex. Bank Act, OSFI, Basel, etc.) impacting the credit risk management functions in the Bank

When you join our team:

• We’ll empower you to learn and grow the career you want.
• We’ll recognize and support you in a flexible environment where well-being and inclusion are more than just words.
• As part of our global team, we’ll support you in shaping the future you want to see.

About Manulife and John Hancock

Manulife Financial Corporation is a leading international financial services provider, helping people make their decisions easier and lives better. To learn more about us, visit https://www.manulife.com/en/about/our-story.html.

Manulife is an Equal Opportunity Employer

At Manulife/John Hancock, we embrace our diversity. We strive to attract, develop and retain a workforce that is as diverse as the customers we serve and to foster an inclusive work environment that embraces the strength of cultures and individuals. We are committed to fair recruitment, retention, advancement and compensation, and we administer all of our practices and programs without discrimination on the basis of race, ancestry, place of origin, colour, ethnic origin, citizenship, religion or religious beliefs, creed, sex (including pregnancy and pregnancy-related conditions), sexual orientation, genetic characteristics, veteran status, gender identity, gender expression, age, marital status, family status, disability, or any other ground protected by applicable law.

It is our priority to remove barriers to provide equal access to employment. A Human Resources representative will work with applicants who request a reasonable accommodation during the application process. All information shared during the accommodation request process will be stored and used in a manner that is consistent with applicable laws and Manulife/John Hancock policies. To request a reasonable accommodation in the application process, contact recruitment@manulife.com.

Referenced Salary Location

Salary range is expected to be between

If you are applying for this role outside of the primary location, please contact recruitment@manulife.com for the salary range for your location. The actual salary will vary depending on local market conditions, geography and relevant job-related factors such as knowledge, skills, qualifications, experience, and education/training. Employees also have the opportunity to participate in incentive programs and earn incentive compensation tied to business and individual performance.

Manulife offers eligible employees a wide array of customizable benefits, including health, dental, mental health, vision, short- and long-term disability, life and AD&D insurance coverage, adoption/surrogacy and wellness benefits, and employee/family assistance plans. We also offer eligible employees various retirement savings plans (including pension and a global share ownership plan with employer matching contributions) and financial education and counseling resources. Our generous paid time off program in Canada includes holidays, vacation, personal, and sick days, and we offer the full range of statutory leaves of absence. If you are applying for this role in the U.S., please contact recruitment@manulife.com for more information about U.S.-specific paid time off provisions.