Senior Manager, Country Risk - Financial Institutions Business

Position Summary:

This position will be responsible for the independent assessment, monitoring, recommendation, and approval of countries risk limits across the Bank's international Financial Institutions portfolio. The role develops sovereign and country risk assessments, establishes country exposure limits, and ensures that cross-border lending remains within the Bank's risk appetite while supporting business growth.

The position covers both Investment Grade and Emerging Markets across the GCC, Middle East, Africa, South Asia, Eastern Europe, CIS, and other strategic markets.

Responsibilities:

Country Risk Assessment

• Conduct comprehensive sovereign and country risk assessments covering political, economic, fiscal, external, banking sector, and regulatory risks.
• Assess macroeconomic developments and their impact on the Bank's cross-border exposures.
• Monitor sovereign ratings, outlook changes, geopolitical developments, sanctions, and capital controls.
• Produce formal country risk reports and annual country reviews.

Country Limit Management

• Recommend, establish, review, and approve country exposure limits.
• Define lending appetite by country based on sovereign risk, transfer risk, convertibility risk, and macroeconomic outlook.
• Review utilization of country limits and recommend increases, reductions, or suspensions where appropriate.
• Ensure country exposures remain within Board-approved risk appetite.

Risk Governance

• Present country risk assessments to Credit Committee, Executive Risk Committee, and Board Risk Committee.
• Develop and maintain the Country Risk Framework and Country Limit Methodology.
• Ensure compliance with regulatory requirements and internal risk policies.
• Maintain country watchlists and early warning indicators.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Finance, Economics, Business, or related field.
• Master's degree (Economics, Finance, International Relations, or MBA) preferred.
• CFA, FRM, PRM, or equivalent professional qualification is advantageous.

Required Skills

• 10–15+ years of experience in banking risk management.
• Extensive experience in Country Risk, Sovereign Risk, or International Credit Risk.
• Experience approving country limits for Financial Institutions or Corporate Banking portfolios.
• Strong knowledge of emerging markets and cross-border lending.
• Experience working with international banks or development finance institutions is preferred.