IDB3276 - Principal, Direct Finance - ICD

The Principal, Direct Financing Division is expected to actively contribute and participate in the tasks and processes of deal origination, structuring, due diligence, negotiation, credit approval, coordination for financing documentation & completion of conditions precedents, etc. The specific geographical and sectoral scope of the role will be determined in the due course depending on the evolving needs of the Division.

The Direct Financing Division of ICD handles Islamic debt financing to all real sectors and non-financial services sector clients of ICD. The Division’s geographical scope includes all 56 Member Countries (MCs) of ICD. The sectoral scope includes but not limited to manufacturing, agribusiness, infrastructure, energy, power, water, mining, contracting & other services etc.

Project Sourcing & Origination:

• Originate new bankable deal opportunities that are in line with the risk appetite of the Corporation and target market sheet of the Banking Department.

• Maintain relationships in the ICD MCs and outside, as required, to promote ICD’s term direct finance products, services and highlighting ICD’s value proposition.

• Propose and execute client origination and sourcing strategy including identification of target countries, target products, target sectors and development goals.

• Collect Know Your Customer (KYC) documents from the clients and work closely with the Legal & Compliance Department for their required compliance clearance.

• Participate in carrying out the client onboarding process.

• Actively participate and support as appropriate the supervisor/head in the preliminary appraisal stage to assess the feasibility of potential financing proposals / projects in alignment with ICD’s credit appetite, strategy and development objectives.

• Participate in the preparation and negotiation of mandate letters with the client and have the same executed after obtaining necessary internal clearances.

Project Appraisal & Approval: 

• Obtain necessary client and project documents and details to prepare a transaction proposal.

• Coordinate internally and externally to ensure selection and appointment of external advisers to support the due diligence and documentation.

• Undertake preliminary review of potential financing proposals, run preliminary rating exercise through Credit Lens, develop a financing concept document for preliminary concept/endorsement by the Technical Review Committee (TRC). In this regard, work closely with the client, financial advisor (if any), Mandated Lead Arranger -MLA (if any), ICD's Risk Management Department (RMD), ICD's Legal & Compliance Department (LCD), Development Effectiveness Officer (DEO), ICD's Sharia'a Advisor, Treasury (Pricing Sub-Committee) etc.

• Initiate and participate in the negotiations with the client and conduct relevant activities, including but not limited to project timeline and disbursement cycles & criteria.

• Work closely with the deal team members (both in HQ and Regional Offices), other co-financiers, clients, financiers’ and client’s external advisers etc. for effective due diligence, credit proposal and smooth execution.

• Work closely with Risk Management Department, Legal & Compliance Department, Strategy Department, Shariah, Development Effectiveness in order to process a transaction proposal for the final approval.

• Actively contribute towards the preparation and presentation of the credit financing proposals to the Technical Review Committee (TRC), Investment Committee (IC), and Executive Committee/Board ensuring proper review and coordination with ICD’s Risk, Legal and Sharia'a functions and obtain necessary approval/endorsement as applicable.

• Coordinate with all required parties to ensure that legal documents are reviewed, prepared and duly executed as per the transaction structure and that the facility is declared effective for disbursement.

• Coordinate with Risk Management Department for obtaining clearance on the Closing Memo and arranging the signing of agreement documents.

• Work closely with the Legal Advisors, Clients, Agent Bank and other Advisors (if any), for the completion of the CPs for first disbursement (Effectiveness).

• Handover to the Portfolio Management Division (PMD) once Effectiveness is declared.

• Work in conjunction with and support the Portfolio Management Division post-project handover to maintain portfolio quality.

Monitoring & Reporting:

• Participate and prepare for evaluation, structuring and execution of transactions up to the first disbursement and hand over to the Portfolio Management.

• Follow-up with clients and co-financiers to ensure compliance with effectiveness conditions and process the first drawdown requests internally to facilitate timely fund disbursements.

• Transfer investment files to the Portfolio Management Team after the first disbursement and provide support on ongoing basis.

Stakeholder Management:

• Maintain and expand relationships with reputable clients, sponsors, project developers, co-financiers, financial advisors, etc. in the target markets.

• Maintain relationships with clients during the project lifecycle and ensure that project objectives have been met and support Portfolio Management team in managing customer relationship post-project handover.

•  Maintain pulse on the macroeconomics and microeconomics of the countries of the Portfolio clients.

• At least 6 years of relevant experience in a Corporate Banking, Project Financing / Structured Financing, or Credit Risk Management roles at a reputable Financial Institution, Financial Advisory Firm or a Private Equity Firm (or equivalent) is a must. Additional years of relevant experience may give added advantage.

• Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Finance, Mathematics / Statistics, Accounting, Physics, Computer Science, etc. or any related field is a must.

• Master’s degree in Business Administration, Finance, Accounting or any other relevant STEM subject (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) subject or a relevant Professional Certification such as ACA, CFA, ACCA, or CIMA is required.

• Strong teamwork with colleagues within the Division and other parts of ICD and IsDBG in the delivery of expected mandate.

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

• Proficiency in Microsoft Excel, Word and Power Point is a must.

Core Behavioral Competencies:

• Innovation and Initiatives

• Change Management

• Developing People Capability

• Partnership Management

• Strategic Thinking

• Self-Effectiveness

Technical Competencies:

• Financial analysis and financial modelling skills

• Credit & investment appraisal skills

• Relationship management skills

• Macroeconomics Indicators and Concepts

• Strong proficiency in both verbal and written English is a must. Proficiency in French and/or Arabic may be considered as an added advantage.