Managing Director, Portfolio Performance & Credit Strategy

at  BMO Financial Group

33 Dundas Street West Toronto Ontario,M5G 3C2
Oversees portfolio performance and optimizes the quality of the Canadian P&BB/Wealth Management Consumer lending portfolios for credit cards, lines of credit, and everyday banking by leading the management of portfolio and credit risk strategies within Personal & Business Banking and Wealth Management Lines of Business. Acts as a key point of contact for the lines of business in all product initiatives and discussions pertaining to operating within risk appetite, providing independent risk oversight, and ensuring that growth initiatives are optimized for both risk and return.
Provides support to the North American Collections Centre teams by providing oversight to the risk-based collections strategies and ensuring effective risk governance. Sets strategic direction for the evolution of credit risk optimization capabilities, informed by a thorough understanding of internal and external opportunities including emerging / leading edge opportunities in data, modeling, and automation. Supports the Bank’s process simplification and customer experience agenda by defining innovative solutions that leverage the capabilities of BMO’s decision engine (e.g., automation of manual process steps, error-proofing, etc.). As a model user and point of contact for the modeling team supporting Canadian Consumer Credit for adjudication and behavioral models, partners with the modeling team in developing models to support business needs through appropriate selection of segmentation, data, period, target variable, etc. and provides oversight and challenge of model results including for all Canadian retail stress testing. Leads numerous risk-sponsored initiatives in analytics and decision automation, while concurrently supporting and overseeing complex initiatives sponsored by senior stakeholders from every retail product group as well as business banking and other groups (Wealth, AML, Fraud, US Retail) as required. Acts as a key contributor and workstream leader within a multi-year risk transformation program which aims to accelerate the advancement of BMO’s retail data infrastructure, to simplify and automate processes and to drive additional risk-return optimization leveraging new data sources.

ACCOUNTABILITIES:

• Ensures portfolio performance and results are within risk appetite, and when exceeding, partnering with the business line to ensure that effective mitigation strategies have been developed and implemented in a reasonable amount of time.
• Maintains a thorough understanding of the external environment (macro-economic and competitor) including regulatory requirements, risk management techniques (i.e., best practices) and a general understanding of competitive offerings, acts upon trends within the marketplace that could affect retail risk performance, to ensure the primary mandate is met.
• Develops all through the door and pre-approved credit strategies for credit cards, personal loans, lines of credit, and overdraft.
• Designs and develops a robust test and learn framework aimed to continually improve the strategies (i.e., Champion/Challenger strategies) reducing risk and/or improving efficiency / profitability / customer experience.
• Upon implementation of credit and risk-based strategies, ensures continuous monitoring, via standardized and ad hoc reporting, to confirm strategies are performing within the Bank’s approved risk appetite. As required amends / refines strategies using the standardized credit strategy development tools and the decision strategy change management process.
• Applies critical reasoning and risk assessment to business initiatives including Credit limit increase campaigns, credit limit decrease campaigns, pricing initiatives and new product approvals.
• Embeds agile work techniques in everyday work.
• Partners with the business lines to ensure alignment on deliverables.
• Oversees of the development, maintenance and optimization of risk-based collections strategies aimed to maximize the recovery amounts by selecting the most appropriate treatment based on the customer risk and behavioral profile. Brings together key analytics resources, experts in experimental design, leaders in collections operations and technology systems experts; provides leadership and direction to the development of best-in-class risk-based collections strategies.
• Undertakes risk assessment of partnership-initiated projects / business proposals (e.g., new product offering) and implement strategies to support approved initiatives.
• Provides risk assessment of the credit and business strategies regarding account management campaigns /initiatives.
• Directs the development and maintenance of sophisticated credit risk strategies using analytics, predictive modeling and expert knowledge while optimizing system capabilities to maximize automated decisions, support efficient manual adjudication and contribute to overall frontline lending productivity.
• Drives risk adjusted return by optimizing risk and reward and generating good quality balance growth within the Bank’s approved risk appetite.
• Develops account management strategies including pre-approval campaigns for lines of credit, authorization and over limit strategies for credit cards, and payment hold strategies.
• Utilizes robust change management processes and techniques including simulation, validation testing, statistical tools, business case preparation and the identification and implementation of report requirements to allow for evaluation of the effectiveness of the proposed new or modified strategies.
• Maintains a thorough understanding of BMO’s Automated Lending Decision Engine (i.e., FICO DMP/Strata and TRIAD), as well as accompanying credit systems, working closely with the Credit System Management Group to implement new or refine

modify current strategies.

• Maintains expert knowledge of the consumer loan portfolio product characteristics / offerings and a working knowledge of Commercial products to maximize credit strategies and identify cross-impacts / opportunities.
• Understands profitability structure under risk / return assessment analysis.
• Participates in major Bank initiatives providing expert level input regarding the impact of Credit Risk strategies and related Credit processes on the subject initiatives.
• Maintains a thorough understanding of the information, tools, and capabilities available from of both internal and external groups to ensure effectiveness of Credit Risk strategies is maximized.
• Solicits feedback as required by various constituents to ensure effectiveness of strategies and that credit decision outcomes are provided in a clear and concise manner.
• Acts as key model user and point of contact for the modeling team supporting Canadian Consumer Credit as Model User for adjudication and behavioral models.
• Maintains a thorough understanding of BMO’s credit risk models, working closely with the Risk Methodology and Analytics Group to implement new or refine / modify models, in conjunction with business rules, within the credit strategies.
• Provides input into new model development including segmentation approach, data usage, modeling approach; participates in such process to provide business knowledge and experience in modeling decisions to ensure that model is fit for its intended use.
• Provides subject matter expertise and develops strategies anti-money laundering identity checks for digital channels including Everyday Banking account applications and credit card application.
• Develops and executes on first party fraud strategies and controls including payment hold process, debit card authorization limits, credit card bust-out fraud etc.
• Provides support to businesses looking to automate decisions or requiring retail credit risk knowledge and support.
• Leads evolutionary thinking in process simplification and customer experience enhancements leveraging the capabilities of BMO’s decision engine (e.g., automating, eliminating and error-proofing process steps, building simplified lending applications leveraging new / enhanced data).
• Shapes the advancement of BMO’s retail data infrastructure by building / incubating a retail risk data science and advanced analytics team who will identify and prioritize data gaps. Champions the build out of retail risk data in IDP and leads the adoption of BMO’s advanced analytics environment among Risk users.
• Works with P&BB and Wealth to articulate the Bank’s risk appetite and ensure that the strategies operate within approved risk appetite while striving to maximize risk return and improve the customer experience through the lending process.
• Acts as key SME in assisting U.S. P&BB to develop, implement and optimize automated credit decisioning strategies with the goal to improve decisioning efficiencies including lender productivity.
• Effectively communicates the Bank’s risk appetite and impact on credit decision strategies to the retail LOB executives.
• Works collaboratively with business to provide clear understanding of impacts of change to the degree of alignment to Bank’s risk appetite.
• Within the mandate of this role, promotes and supports the Bank’s risk culture including ensuring employees understand their accountabilities for risk-taking activities, promoting an environment of open communication and effective challenge, and establishing the “tone from the top” through leading by example.
• Complies with the Bank’s Risk Appetite framework and ensures risk-taking activities remain within agreed limits and comply with all regulatory requirements.
• Role models driving simplicity and productivity enhancements for optimization across groups driving continuous improvement on key measures.
• Activates our winning culture, aligned with Purpose. Ignites engagement by aligning our culture to our strategy and fueling exceptional execution.
• Fosters diversity, equity and inclusion and creates an inclusive environment for all employees by eliminating barriers to inclusion.
• Develops leaders, plans for succession, and fosters a high-performance culture.
• Drives top talent acquisition and retention, developing organizational capabilities to drive competitive advantage.
• Leads and mentors a team with diverse risk and business experience, skills, and orientation.
• Leads, promotes, and reinforces the Bank’s Ambition; personally, role models One Bank leadership; drives sustainable improvements in customer loyalty and business growth; adheres and supports enterprise customer experience and brand standards.

QUALIFICATIONS:

• Master’s degree (preferred) in economics or finance or undergraduate degree and designation as a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) or Financial Risk Manager (FRM) or MBA
• Minimum of 10 years risk management work experience, with at least 5 years of managerial experience
• Expert knowledge in Consumer Credit Risk lending
• Thorough understanding of modelling, advanced analytics, and data analytics
• Relevant experience in stress testing
• Strong quantitative/analytical skills
• Advanced knowledge of Credit Policies and processes
• Thorough knowledge of the Bank Lending Process training tools and qualification process
• Strong understanding of linkage between Credit risk strategies and Bank’s financial management
• Working knowledge of report design and development
• In-depth knowledge of Risk Management theory, processes, and portfolio management reporting techniques
• Familiarity with Federal and Provincial regulations relating to Consumer credit activities and Consumer Reporting requirements.
• Consumer Lending Qualified (Current or previous)
• General knowledge of competitor offerings; General market/environmental awareness
• Expert analytical/systems thinking and conceptual/strategic thinking with the ability to execute upon identified needs.
• Ability to influence others – esp. in terms of credit risk decision strategy and direction.
• Ability to network and establish industry relationships.
• Excellent communication skills (written and verbal) including listening, understanding and responding.
• Expert managerial and interpersonal skills that places a high priority on teamwork and cooperation.
• Enterprising personality able to deal with tight deadlines.
• Ability to work with limited supervision on numerous activities simultaneously
  Please note the target base salary range for this specific position is noted as a range from $170,000 CAD to $190,000 CAD

Please refer the Job description for details