Analyst – Risk Management

Working in commercial credit risk offers exposure to how global financial institutions evaluate lending decisions, manage institutional risk, and protect business portfolios. This role provides practical experience in analyzing corporate financial health, assessing business risks, and contributing to informed credit decisions that directly support American Express' worldwide commercial operations.

🌍 Global Credit Exposure

The Commercial Rating and Underwriting (CRU) team forms an important part of American Express' Credit and Fraud Risk organization. Analysts evaluate institutional credit exposures generated through corporate card programs, merchant relationships, and investment portfolios.

The position primarily supports English-speaking markets while collaborating with global teams located in the United States, United Kingdom, Singapore, and India. This creates opportunities to understand international business environments and different industry sectors.

Hybrid Global Team

📊 What You'll Be Responsible For

As an Analyst, your day-to-day responsibilities may include:

• Reviewing company financial statements and annual reports.

• Performing fundamental credit analysis.

• Evaluating business performance and industry conditions.

• Understanding country-level economic risks.

• Assessing profitability and credit requirements of commercial relationships.

• Supporting underwriting decisions for institutional clients.

• Preparing detailed credit memorandums for internal review.

• Working alongside sales teams, credit administration, and business risk partners.

• Monitoring financial performance and identifying potential credit concerns before they become larger risks.

Rather than simply approving or rejecting credit requests, the role focuses on building well-supported analytical recommendations based on financial evidence.

💼 Skills That Matter Most

American Express is looking for candidates with strong analytical thinking and financial understanding.

Useful technical knowledge includes:

Financial Statements GAAP IFRS Excel Credit Analysis

Preferred knowledge includes:

• Balance Sheet Analysis

• Income Statement Analysis

• Cash Flow Analysis

• Financial Ratio Interpretation

• Corporate Valuation

• Financial Forecasting

• Probability of Default (PD)

• Loss Given Default (LGD)

Candidates familiar with Moody's RiskCalc, CreditEdge, or similar quantitative credit models will have an additional advantage.

🏦 Enterprise-Level Learning

Unlike traditional finance roles that focus only on accounting, this position provides exposure to enterprise banking risk management.

Analysts gain experience with:

• Commercial underwriting processes

• Basel banking regulations

• Institutional lending frameworks

• Corporate risk ratings

• Portfolio risk assessment

• Global compliance standards

• Financial risk governance

Understanding why a company may default is often more valuable than simply calculating financial ratios.

🤝 Collaboration Across Teams

The position involves regular interaction with several business functions, including:

• Front Office Sales Teams

• Business Risk Partners

• Credit Administration

• Global Underwriting Teams

• Regional Risk Managers

Strong written communication is important because analysts prepare reports that support major financial decisions.

🎓 Educational Background

Candidates are expected to have:

• Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics, Statistics, or a related field.

• Strong academic performance.

• 0–2 years of relevant experience in commercial credit analysis or underwriting.

CFA Program Candidates Preferred

Knowledge of VBA and advanced Microsoft Excel can strengthen your profile but is not mandatory.

📈 Career Growth Potential

This role provides an excellent foundation for careers in:

• Credit Risk Management

• Corporate Banking

• Investment Banking

• Financial Analysis

• Enterprise Risk

• Commercial Lending

• Portfolio Risk

• Risk Consulting

Professionals with experience in commercial underwriting often progress into senior credit analyst, risk manager, portfolio manager, or enterprise risk leadership positions.

🧠 Interview Preparation Areas

Candidates preparing for interviews should be comfortable discussing:

• Financial statement analysis

• Ratio analysis

• Working capital concepts

• Cash flow interpretation

• Corporate valuation basics

• GAAP vs IFRS

• Macroeconomic indicators

• Credit risk concepts

• Probability of Default (PD)

• Loss Given Default (LGD)

• Business and industry risk analysis

• Excel functions used in financial analysis

Having examples of projects involving finance, accounting, or business analysis can also strengthen your interview.

📝 Resume Keywords

Credit Risk • Commercial Underwriting • Financial Analysis • Corporate Finance • Financial Statements • GAAP • IFRS • Credit Rating • Excel • VBA • Corporate Valuation • Forecasting • Risk Assessment • Basel Regulations • Portfolio Analysis • Moody's RiskCalc • CreditEdge • Business Analysis • Institutional Banking • Analytical Skills

💡 Why This Opportunity Stands Out

American Express offers early-career professionals the opportunity to work on real institutional credit decisions within a globally recognized financial organization. The combination of international exposure, structured analytical work, collaboration with experienced risk professionals, and strong learning opportunities makes this role particularly valuable for candidates interested in long-term careers in banking, financial risk, and corporate credit analysis.