Manager – Treasury Middle Office at Sidian Bank

JOB PURPOSE

The middle office provides support for both day to day operations as well as strategic functions within the treasury department. Its main role includes monitoring risks while also improving processes and systems, for better efficiency. The job holder will be responsible for treasury middle office function with a fundamental role of enhancing control in the following ways;

• First-hand trading risk management & validation of dealing process separation
• Independently validating positions taken and margins applied
• Evaluating the effectiveness of trading control systems
• Detection and escalation of trading errors
• Tracking and enforcing stop loss limits
• Detection and escalation of fraudulent activities & unethical trading practices
• Monitoring of unauthorized proprietary trading
• First-hand enforcement of statutory compliance in regards to Currency Positions
• Enforcement of policy controls on dealing room personnel and practice requirements
• Assessing treasury funding gaps and developing funding proposals
• Processing treasury transactions in the treasury management system, analyzing treasury risk and reporting
• Provide wider support to all of the Bank’s treasury front and back office activities to ensure segregation of duties at all times
• The role is responsible for providing an analysis, development and optimisation of balance sheet management strategies with a view to ensure that there is a robust risk and control management framework to cover market risk and treasury operational risks within the risk appetite set by ALCO
• He/she will also be responsible for monitoring, reconciling and reporting on the P&L account

KEY RESPONSIBILTIES 

• Independent Risk controller
• P & L Reconciliation – Foreign Exchange / Financial Institutions / Money Markets 
• Revaluation data & Deal control
• Audit and Financial Control
• Treasury Reporting

MAIN ACTIVITIES

Independent Risk Controller

• Identify all material risk factors related to credit, operational, market and liquidity risk e.g. C/party exposures, procedures, inflation, interest rates, exchange rates, etc. and to be able to quantify the effect thereof on the existing positions daily;
• Ensure that the overall Bank and treasury stays within regulatory limits set by the Regulator and internal limits through daily accurate reporting;
• Provide expert advice during roll out of new treasury products/ treasury technology.;
• Analyzing and modelling treasury risks i.e. interest rate risk, FX risk (transaction and translation), commodity risk etc.;
• Review the current treasury policy and propose any changes that may add value to the policy and the wider treasury function of the Bank;
• Monitor compliance of all  treasury activities relative to policies and market best practices;
• Maintaining the treasury risk register and ensuring it is up to date at all times and effectively communicated and that actions are taken by relevant stakeholders;
• Championing the Bank’s bank account management process i.e. opening, maintenance and closing of bank accounts;
• Monitor and measure the compliance of portfolio risks within the trading book, AFS book or HTM book with an eye on limits and guidelines set internally and by the regulator daily.

P&L Reconciliation

• Daily compute the contribution of each product, dealer and transaction to the P&L of the bank and report to stakeholders through a P&L tracker;
• Verify that reported daily positions are correct and that the treasury position reconciles with the general ledger;
• Reconcile the P/L report daily (Both FX & MM) and escalate off market trades, Canceled & Amended trades or any issues to Financial Risk and Treasury;
• Obtain daily P/L report estimates and P/L report sign offs from Treasury and keep track of the same;
• Management of Month-end FCY PL sweeps by notifying dealers of possible Position impact while ensuring no PL impact;
• Championing  the bank’s treasury deals confirmation (including confirmation matching) and settlement processes.

Revaluation data & Deal Control

• Championing the accounting valuation/revaluation processes of all treasury instruments i.e. mark-to-market valuations of all financial instruments;
• Report the outcomes of each measure of risk (Interest, liquidity or exchange) to immediate supervisor in accordance with set policies and procedures. e.g. NOP (net overnight open position), PVO1, MTM, NII, VAR etc.;
• Daily report on the CBK and Nostrum closing balances to the immediate supervisor to ascertain efficient placement of funds;
• Management of Inter-desk Funding between the ALM desk and Trading desks (Fixed Income/FX);
• Daily verification of End of Day rates as well as End of month Fixed Income and FX revaluation;
• Ensure appropriate deal booking policy/models are used by the TFO especially on rollout of new products and new systems;
• Assist to maintain day-end and month-end data to enable reporting on current and historical compliance or non-compliance with limits and guidelines, with appropriate commentary over daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly or annual periods;
• Off Market Rate Deal reporting across all asset classes (FX, Money Markets, and Securities) by jointly with Market Risk establishing and monitoring thresholds;
• In liaison with Risk, Capture End of Day Market Rates for FX (including swap points for valuation of FX swaps and Forwards) in T-24 system or treasury transaction processing system;
• In Liaison with Risk, Capture End of Day Market Rates for Securities Held and Fair Value Through PL or OCI, in T-24 system or treasury transaction processing system;
• Exception reporting for Deals Cancelled and amended with PL impact for fair valued assets (FX and Securities).

Audit and Financial Control

• Through daily reporting; give prompt attention to risk exposures & breaches of limits and guidelines, including the development of risk mitigation strategies;
• Report daily on limits utilization, counterparty lines utilization, product breaches and trading limits breaches;
• Ensuring that all external debt and interest is properly accounted for and correctly reported on the company’s financial statements and working in conjunction with the finance function as required;
• Ensure Compliance with International Accounting Standards and International Financial Reporting Standards;
• Assist in analysis, investigation and closure of any audit issues highlighted in treasury;
• Conduct independent valuation of all Treasury products e.g. Interest Rate swaps, Forwards, FX Swaps, Bonds, Options, Overnight Index Swaps etc.;
• Championing the treasury function’s audit process for both internal and external audits including liaisons on an audit follow-up points;
• Ensure close liaison with other areas internal and external of Finance to ensure consistent adherence to policies and procedures.

Treasury Reporting

• Championing the treasury function’s reports pack preparation for various stakeholders i.e. board packs, due diligence packs, investors roadshow packs, new relationship report packs etc.;
• Prepare Models that help with product revaluation, Sensitivity analysis, Scenario Analysis, Stress testing to help with budgeting, MIS, ALCO decisioning;
• Produce TMO Pack documenting movements and highlighting P&L and Balance Sheet trends across the bank’s Treasury Products and Industry;
• Act as the contact person for treasury products internal and external reviews;
• Coordinate resolution of issues with cross functional teams, including front office, market risk, and operations;
• Provide support in preparation of business cases for new opportunities and products for the Treasurer to be presented to Asset Liability Committee (ALCO);
• Design/re-engineer exception-based Treasury reporting.

ACADEMIC BACKGROUND

• A first Degree in a relevant discipline i.e. accounting, financial management, economics, numerical or other scientific related disciplines.
• Advanced degree is an added advantage.

WORK EXPERIENCE

• A minimum of 4 years’ experience working in a treasury function either in a financial or corporate institution, preferably in the financial services industry.
• At least three years banking experience with exposure to Treasury function – front, middle or back office functions.

SKILLS & COMPETENCIES

• Practical Knowledge of Treasury products and Treasury risk management systems and operational processes with demonstrable skills application of market risk management methodologies and tools;
• Good communication skills with strong personality and ability to work with minimum supervision;
• Solid grounding in financial systems database methodologies and financial modelling;
• Solid experience in working with Treasury Management Systems;
• Advanced Excel skills and computer literacy (e.g. SQL, Crystal Reports);
• Prompt and accurate reporting for decision making;
• Timely production of exception reports and explanation of dealer estimates vs actuals.

PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATION

• Qualified accountant (CPA/ACCA or their equivalent); member of ICPAK
• Recognized Professional Qualification in Treasury will be a strong added advantage.
• ACI accreditation or Risk Management certification. CPA/ACCA qualification is desirable.