Head of Trade Product, GTB (UAE National)

Job Purpose:

The primary objective of the role is to develop, commercialize and deliver a competitive suite of trade products to Mashreq’s corporate and FI clients across the Bank’s global network. The role will drive programs to capture high quality assets/transaction flows and generate attractive returns on capital deployed by the Bank.

Trade products span a full range of documentary and open account products and services and the role covers due diligence and transaction monitoring activities associated with certain transactions and programs.

Key Result Areas:

Overview

This role will have global product management responsibility for all trade products offered by Global Transaction Banking (GTB) to Financial Institutions and Corporates across Mashreq Bank’s network. The role is accountable for delivering the product P&L globally and includes end to end management responsibility for product strategy, innovation, development, commercialization, and certain risk management functions across all locations.

Documentary Trade products and services include Import Letters of Credit, Back to Back LCs, Inward Collections, Export Letter of Credit Advising and Confirmation, Outward Collections, Trust Receipt Loans (Documentary and Open Account), Short Term Trade Loans, Export Bill Discounting (Bank and Customer Risk), and Bank Guarantees / SBLCs amongst others.

Open Account Trade products and services include Factoring and Receivables Financing (Recourse/Non-Recourse), PDC Discounting, Invoice Discounting, Payables Finance, 2-Factor Import and Export, Invoice and Cheque Monitoring, and other ancillary services.

The Bank also supports a full range of Islamic Trade Finance products mirroring its convention trade offering.

Operating locations where GTB trade products are offered include GCC countries (United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Oman), Egypt, and International Corporate Centers in Hong Kong, US, India, and the UK with more locations to follow in the future.

The product needs of the GCC are covered by the central product team in UAE. Egypt has its own dedicated Trade Product Manager whilst the International Corporate Centers each have a dedicated Trade Product Manager.

Mashreq supports a wide range of transactions from traditional flow trade to structured commodity/non-commodity trade deals, and large open account financing programs. The role is expected to drive an ‘origination to distribution’ model for large exposures which can be sold down through a distribution desk run by the Bank’s Investment Banking Division. A large FI network also supports the ability to take risk on importer bank LCs.

The role is also responsible for overseeing a trade middle office and support team that manages surveys of receivables portfolios, monitors Trust Receipt Loans, ensures monitoring and control of commodity trade finance deals, and supports onboarding of suppliers under Supplier Finance programs, amongst other support activities.

Key Responsibilities

• Drive Overall Financial Performance – drive the overall financial performance of trade products by launching new products and driving initiatives for existing products to grow volumes, assets and contingents whilst establishing strategies to optimize fee pricing, Net Interest Margins (NIMs) and Risk Adjusted Return on Capital (RAROC). Work with Technology and Operations to digitize processes and lower costs and with Wholesale Risk Management (WRM) to advocate for the most appropriate capital treatment of different trade products
• Understand the Market – understand the market landscape for trade products by ensuring your product team constantly scans the market for regulatory developments, trends, drivers, client needs and competitor offerings (including fintechs and alternative working capital providers) through market analysis, feedback from Sales, direct client interaction, participation in industry bodies and associations, interaction with colleagues at other banks, discussions with Compliance and regulators, industry research papers, and feedback from voice of the client surveys
• Develop the Product Strategy – work with the product management team to develop a comprehensive strategy for all trade products by clearly defining the market landscape and drivers, core product proposition, target market and client segments, addressable market size, projected share of wallet and associated volumes/revenues, competitor capability assessment, product development roadmap, and commercialization strategy
• Drive Product Innovation – establish processes and checkpoints to ensure your team identifies opportunities to develop new products and enhance existing products based on market/sales feedback, client needs and/or regulatory changes. Prioritize the development pipeline based on a sound commercial assessment of each opportunity and review the quality of investment plans before the team seeks formal approvals. Constantly review the Minimum Value Proposition (MVP) for the product set against each target segment as well as defining the future roadmap for an Enhanced Value Proposition (EVP) to stay ahead of the market and position Mashreq as the leading innovator in the region
• Leverage a Partnership Approach – work with your team to identify third party service providers, fintechs, digital platforms, ecosystems and emerging channels that can drive new volumes, or act as a future source of new business or competitive advantage through bundling of capabilities. Ensure a sound commercial assessment is made of each opportunity and establish a process to determine which ideas should be presented to the broader GTB Management team. Implement a framework for setting up partnerships including commercial terms and service levels, and set up ongoing performance reviews to optimize partnership delivery
• Support Product Development – monitor participation of team members in the working level product development teams. Ensure the scope of each product build/enhancement is clearly defined in relevant Business Requirements Documents and touch base with the Product Development Head regularly to check that Product Managers are providing effective inputs and supporting key deliverables such as the development of test cases, standard operating procedures, and product implementation guides
• Commercialize Product Offerings – ensure the team develop and execute a comprehensive commercialization plan for each key trade product including revenue/volume targets, client target market and prospect lists, core marketing/sales materials, product training for Sales and Coverage, and client education events. Track and monitor execution of these plans through regular reviews and identify any issues where help is required to remove roadblocks. Ensure the Product Management team are working on the right deals with Sales to maximize revenues, especially structured trade deals where the inherent risks and complexities are much higher
• Optimize Product Performance – create a ‘constant improvement’ culture with the product management team by encouraging all team members to constantly look for opportunities to improve the client experience and performance of trade products. Engage directly with senior stakeholders in Operations, Service, Technology, Risk, Legal and Compliance to ensure they are supporting key improvement initiatives. Establish reporting metrics and product bench reviews to evaluate product performance including refreshed pricing strategies and market positioning to maximize financial and volume performance. Monitor revenues, costs, volumes, pricing, turnaround times and efficiency across the product set to ensure all products are performing as expected and team members are taking remedial action to address underperformance. Retire products or services that have limited revenues and growth opportunity. Lead industry advocacy to improve the regulatory and legal framework for trade products where this can improve the effectiveness, market demand or operational delivery of products
• Build Product Governance & Compliance Culture – ensure that the team complete all Product Program Guidelines (PPGs) and/or Country Addenda for trade products on a regular basis, that these documents reflect a true assessment of the inherent risks associated with these products, and that products are aligned to the legal, regulatory, compliance, tax, credit risk and other relevant frameworks and internal policies within the Bank. Review changes in the market landscape to understand the impact on the product bench, including changes in the regulatory horizon, and ensure the team pro-actively implement changes to mitigate risks and stay within the risk appetite of the Bank. Set up programs to promote awareness of risk and compliance issues associated with trade products within GTB and with Sales and Coverage partners
• Coach and Develop Team Capability – monitor individual performance and provide constant feedback to individuals on positive outcomes as well as areas for development. Establish development plans to close individual capability gaps and develop hiring plans to build out the team bench

Knowledge, Skills, and Experience:

• Minimum 20 years trade product management experience including at least 5 years senior management experience covering multiple markets, global segments, or trade product sets with full P&L accountability
• Strong understanding of both traditional/documentary and open account/supply chain trade products as well as structured finance solutions ideally in a global or large regional bank
• Track record developing and successfully commercializing multiple new products
• Experience in agile product and technology development approaches
• Strong people management skills
• Strong analytical and data rationale mindset
• Strong communication ability and executive impact