Group Chief Risk Officer at African Development Bank

The Group Risk Management Function (PGRF) brings all core risk functions under one independent, transparent and accountable function. The Group Chief Risk Officer (GCRO) will ensure compliance with risk-related issues (for example, credit, operational, market, reputational, internal controls, and business continuity). PGRF’s roles also include leading the preparation, update and implementation of strategic plans within the Bank’s overall risk management framework. It formulates risk strategy (including the Bank’s risk appetite statement), credit risk, operational risk and market risk guidelines, policies and procedures, and ensures their approval through the Bank’s risk governance structures. PGRF is responsible for developing and implementing models and systems to mitigate all risks and for proposing measures to ensure satisfactory level of the risk-bearing capacity of the Bank Group. It provides regular and timely feedback and advice to Senior Management and the Boards of Directors regarding the functioning of these policies. PGRF has primary responsibility for engagement with the rating agencies in respect of the annual ratings review, working together with Financial Risk Management.

The Group Chief Risk Officer (GCRO) reports to the President and supervises:

• the Credit Risk Unit (PGRF.1), which handles the credit risk management for the Bank Group’s lending and equity investment operations. The Unit focuses on Non-Sovereign Credit Risk and the monitoring of portfolio risk. Specifically, PGRF.1:
• Ensures adequate assessment of credit risk of new non-sovereign operations as well as regular review of the Bank’s non-sovereign credit portfolio; monitors the non-sovereign lending activities against the statutory and operational limits;
• undertakes real-time assessments and recommends mitigation measures, as well as credit enhancements for the Bank Group’s credit and investment risks; monitors the portfolio and provides periodic reports on credit and investment risks; participates in loan workout, restructuring and recovery efforts for distressed non-sovereign projects;
• Develops policies and guidelines, methodologies and systems relating to non-sovereign credit risk assessment and management for the Bank;
• Ensure internal consistency of all Bank’s non-sovereign credit risk policies and guidelines including those initiated and developed by other Departments;
• Contribute to the development of strategic risk metrics and a risk culture within the organization through the following: (i) Better manage the risk profile of the Bank’s non-sovereign portfolio to protect the Bank’s AAA credit rating and reputation; and (ii) Strengthen the Bank’s internal risk framework by improving credit processes; advises the Bank on the appropriate risk capital and provisioning requirements and acts as Secretariat for the Credit Risk Committee (CRC).

The Operational Risk Unit (PGRF.2) which is responsible for the policy formulation and coordination of all operational risk management activities as well as implementation of internal controls over financial reporting (ICFR) within the Bank. Specifically, PGRF.2:

• implements the Operational Risk Management (ORM) framework to ensure seamless management of operational risks across the Bank;
• acts as the Secretariat for the Operational Risk Management Committee (ORMC) and prepares the reports for the committee’s consideration;
• maintains and regularly updates guidelines, procedures and documentation covering the management of operational risks within the Bank;
• coordinates the periodic Risk and Control Self-Assessments (RCSAs) across the Bank, and regularly updates the operational risk register of the Bank;
• guides business units to identify, collect and monitor Key Risk Indicators (KRIs) for key operational risks;
• implements the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO 2013) framework, based on which Management issues the annual attestation on the effectiveness of internal controls over financial reporting;
• updates the documentation of ICFR processes to reflect all significant changes that may have occurred;
• assesses operational risk incidents and recommends appropriate mitigation measures in liaison with the Business Units;
• coordinates the periodic testing of controls and remedying ineffective controls, as well as identifies areas requiring improvements and making appropriate recommendations;
• collaborates with process owners in obtaining attestations of effectiveness of internal controls within their processes; and
• supports review of business processes in the Bank’s field offices in order to strengthen the control environment and promote effectiveness of operations.

The Sovereign Credit and Quantitative Risk Management Unit (PGRF.3) which is responsible for sovereign risk, market risk, and provides expertise on quantitative risk topics. PGRF.3 measures and monitors country risks in the 54 RMCs. It independently monitors and reports on the management of the Bank Group’s exposure to market risks, which includes interest rate, currency and equity price risks, as well as exposure to liquidity and counterparty credit risks in the Bank’s Treasury operations. Specifically, PGRF.3:

• leads the annual country risk rating exercise and reporting results to the CRC for approval;
• prepares, and presents to the CRC, the quarterly sovereign portfolio risk report and the annual portfolio review report to both CRC and the Board;
• collaborates with the Strategy Department in conducting comprehensive risk assessment of ADF countries seeking access to the ADB lending window and graduation into blend status;
• prepares the Bank’s Capital Adequacy report and provides regular review of the Bank’s Economic Capital framework;
• builds and implements robust quantitative risk models to measure the Bank’s capital adequacy, and monitor core and non-core risks;
• leads the calibration of the Bank’s risk parameters: Models Probability of Default, Loss Given Defaults, calculates expected losses of the portfolio and performs correlation analysis;
• participates in the development and upgrading of risk identification and assessment methodologies, including assessment, monitoring and management tools and systems;
• assesses the impact of new lending interventions on the Bank’s prudential ratios and exposure limits of countries;
• monitors the concentration risk in the regions and participates in different working groups on the optimization of the Bank’s balance sheet;
• monitors rating agencies capital adequacy ratios;
• assists with the periodic validation of risk rating model; and
• participates in the Global Emerging Market consortium.

Duties and responsibilities

The Group Chief Risk Officer is at the forefront of the second line of defense, with the key activities and deliverables outlined above. (S)he functions as a member of Senior Management and a key support to the President and the Board of Directors. (S)he also acts as a strategic enabler, focusing principally on issues of risk management and addressing the challenges that impact implementation of overall corporate strategy and the achievement of business objectives.

In summary, under the overall supervision and guidance of the President, the Group Chief Risk Officer performs the following:

1.  Manages and supervises the staff of the Function by:

• Planning, organizing and coordinating the activities of the Function;
• Setting the overall objectives and leading the development of the annual work program;
• Overseeing the execution of the work program and ensuring that deadlines are met;
• Determining training needs and leading the development of credit risk capacity building programs;
• Providing coaching, mentoring and conflict resolution;
• Evaluating performance of Unit Heads and staff in the front office, and ensuring the achievement of PGRF objectives; and
• Ensuring the technical competency, professionalism and high ethical standards for all staff members in the Function.

2. Leads the organization of the Credit Risk Committee (CRC) by:

• Supervising the CRC secretariat
• Ensuring smooth processing of the CRC’s activities
• Overseeing the preparation of the CRC’s annual report
• Overseeing the updating of the CRC’s terms of reference and working procedures and
• Providing analytical support to the CRC and Bank’s Operations Committee (OpsComm) as well as the technical working groups;

3. Leads the development of the non-sovereign credit risk management policies and strategies by:

• Proposing goals and strategies to ensure sound banking management of credit risk in AfDB’s non-sovereign operations and compliance with AfDB’s group strategy;
• Proposing credit risk assessment and monitoring processes and methodologies;
• Developing and promulgating portfolio review methodologies, policies and guidelines for the Bank’s private sector loan, guarantee and equity investment operations with a particular focus on credit risk portfolio review, credit standards, exposure limits, risk-based pricing; and
• Proposing credit risk models and systems including inputs to the Bank’s capital adequacy policy.

4. Leads credit risk management for new non-sovereign operations by:

• Proposing a risk rating to all proposed Bank non-sovereign lending operations, guarantees, and equity investments;
• Providing advice and recommendations to operations in structuring each proposal, and providing appropriate risk mitigants for new proposed loan transactions, guarantee and equity investment operations;
• Advising on the appropriate pricing in the light of the risk, structure and market conditions and advise on fair entry price equity valuations;
• Ensuring that the approval of each new transaction complies with the credit process;
• Monitoring compliance of loan amounts for non-sovereign operations with prescribed exposure limits;
• Guiding and assisting with the integrity and anti-money laundering approach; formulating and promulgating sector and product credit management policies and guidelines; and monitoring and reporting on compliance thereof;

5. Leads credit risk management for the Bank’s existing non-sovereign portfolio by:

• Reviewing the credit risks of all existing Bank lending, guarantee, and equity investment operations and regularly updating their credit ratings;
• Monitoring of the performance of the Bank’s equity portfolio, overseeing the periodic equity valuation exercise and ensuring valuation methodology compliance with internal policies and best industry practice;
• Alerting the Risk Committee, Country and Sector Directors and SOU Head when there is a serious credit deterioration in an operation and when there are imminent defaults of borrowers in the Bank’s portfolio;
• Providing independent strategic advice to operations and risk teams concerning assets whose quality is deteriorating, especially if the asset quality becomes such that rehabilitation is required (projects classified as “rehabilitation”);
• Evaluating the adequacy of provisions for non-sovereign projects and recommending their adjustment as necessary;

6.   Key Interactions and Liaisons:

• All Organizational Units of the Bank, for ensuring that Management is informed about all risks;
• All Organizational Units under the Presidency;
• External auditors, for review and certification of the effectiveness of internal controls over
  financial reporting;
• Key external partners, including multilateral organizations and financial institutions, to exchange views on all aspects of risk management and objectives implementation including but not limited to credit, operational and market risk, asset and liability management policies and guidelines and ICFR; and
• Rating agencies, including for the annual review of the Bank’s credit rating.