Standard Bank Risk Graduate Programme 2013/14

Advertiser: Standard Bank
Location: Johannesburg

Risk is becoming an increasingly important element in our banking businesses and our risk teams play a key role in every decision we make to service our clients across all our product lines.

You'll start this two-year programme by joining one of three streams Corporate and Investment Banking (CIB) Credit Risk, Personal and Business Banking: Personal (PPB) Credit or Business Credit or Operational Risk, to ensure you're on the most appropriate development path for your career with us. Through a series of rotations you'll glean close-up and comprehensive experience of our work and impact, ensuring your specialism soon matures into expertise.

CIB: Credit risk:
With the banking industry shifting to an economic capital business philosophy and the evolution of sophisticated derivative markets, risk management has become enormously complex and increasingly professional. Credit risk management is crucial in understanding the nature and quality of our counterparties as well as their concentrations in terms of industry and country. We partner the business to understand credit risk so we can apply appropriate pricing to optimise the bank's risk-adjusted return. This involves understanding and assessing a range of risk areas including credit, financial, economic, legal, political, regulatory, environmental and reputational risks. Join us and you'll enjoy direct, dynamic and stimulating exposure to all the key businesses and transactions at the heart of CIB's expertise. Your rotations will span across Market Risk, Corporate credit, Operational Risk, Real Estate Services and Financial Institutions.

PBB: Personal Credit:
Personal Credit is that part SBSA PBB Credit that specifically focuses on the credit strategy and decisioning for all personal banking products such as Home Loans, Vehicle Finance and Unsecured Lending products such as Cheque Accounts with limits, Revolving Credit Plans and Credit Cards to name a few. Personal Credit is characterized by three main activities within the credit life cycle, with these being originations, account management and collections. Originations relate to the credit decision and can be done either through a scored process with the assistance of a scorecard or an intuitive process. Account management relates to the ongoing monitoring of each product portfolio's accounts within the agreed credit terms whether that be the credit limits, risk appetite or term. Collections activities involve either the rehabilitation of customers or the final recovery of amounts outstanding to the Bank. Through a series of structured rotations you will get exposure to each of these areas.

PBB: Business Credit:
Business Credit supports Business Banking with the management of the Credit Risk function / decision-making of all business risk groups to adequately balance Risk and Reward. The relationship with Personal and Business Bank is one of a partnership with an alignment of objectives to ensure a customer centric approach in decision making and service.

The following are various areas within Business Credit:
Strategy & Reporting, Small Enterprises & Empowerment Finance, Decentralised Lending and Private clients.

PBB: Operational Risk:
In order for banks to make a profit, they have to grapple with a wide array of risks which if unmanaged can impact the success of their operations, impair bottom line, reputation and threaten long term survivability. One of the risk types which banks are faced with on a daily basis emanate from its operational portfolio - i.e. from the execution of the daily processes involved in attracting, servicing and maintaining customers. The risks which emanate from the operational portfolio of banking processes and activities are managed under the ambit of the Operational Risk Management function.

Operational risk relates to the risk of a loss resulting from inadequacies or failures in processes due to technology, personnel, organization or external factors. In addition to identifying and analyzing risks which result in losses, a key deliverable of Operational Risk is ensuring the quality and effectiveness of controls built into processes to prevent financial or reputational losses. Operational Risk Managers ensure that the control environment is fit for purpose and is rigorously governed in line with the requirements of the bank's Operational Risk Policy and Framework.

Within Standard Bank, the Operational Risk function is a second line of defence capability performed by specialist Operational Risk practitioners whose mandate is to embed the Group's ORM policy and framework in partnership with colleagues in business, who are responsible for executing the day to day processes which bring in the money. Operational Risk managers ensure that we do not lose the money we intend to make through any errors or omissions and/ or unmitigated systems or process failures.

Required Skills and Qualifications:
To join this programme, you'll need to be a South African citizen in the final year of your Bachelor's degree or postgraduate degree with finance, statistics, financial management as a major. As well as educational qualifications, we'll be looking for you to show us an analytical approach, an eye for detail and the adaptability to work in multi-skilled teams. Naturally, you'll need to be a good communicator, with the character to remain rational and objective while working under pressure. You must have no more than a year's work experience.

We are an equal opportunities employer and are totally opposed to discrimination in any form. It is our policy to provide equal employment opportunities for all employees regardless of race, sex, colour, nationality, national or ethnic origin, sexual orientation, marital / partnership status, religion, age or disability.

Closing date: 16 August 2013

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Definitions:

Internship:

There are basically two types of internships:

  • The Undergraduate Internship: Usually with bigger organisations that pick undergraduates to attend the internship. It often takes places during the holidays and the average durations is a few weeks. In most cases the intern will receive some sort of stipend or salary and this type of internship may lead to a job offer to the intern once he / she is finished with their studies.
  • The Graduate Internship: This type of internship could be paid or unpaid and it is to gain practical work experience after the qualification has been completed and in a job related to the qualification. It could be from a few weeks or even one or two years long. This type of internship could also lead to permanent employment.

Learnerships:

A learnership is an occupational qualification and it consists of theory and work-based experience and practical skills, with formal assessment and a qualification. At the end of the learnership the candidate may be offered permanent employment.

In-service training:

In-service training is to gain practical work experience during studies. It usually takes place after a few years of theory has been successfully completed. It is essential work experience that is part of the qualification and the in-service training is necessary to achieve the qualification. It could be paid or unpaid.