What is the Role of Credit Underwriter?

Last Updated on 4 years ago by Imarticus Learning

Who is a Credit Underwriter?

A credit underwriter acts as the starting point for granting loans to people who have applied for it. He examines and reviews the loan applications submitted by various individuals who need a new line of credit to fund their personal requirements or propel their professional needs.

A credit underwriter protects the interest of both parties: The ones asking for loans and the ones providing loans to people who need the money. The credit underwriter analyses the financial information of the individual who needs the money and also the information provided by multiple credit agencies to understand if the applicant meets all the criteria laid down by the lender institutions and if the borrower is worthy of the credit.

The underwriters approve and analyze loans as they want to generate profits for their companies with such a transaction. Therefore, an underwriter tries his best to make sure that the approval has been granted only to those individuals who are worthy enough and are backed up by the power to pay the banks back along with the interest.
The underwriters keep in mind five important aspects while selecting the applicants making them eligible for the loan.

The five important factors for selection
1. Character
2. Conditions
3. Capacity
4. Collaterals
5. Considerations

Character: The underwriter examines the credit report and the credit score of the person applying for a loan. This is done with the help of any credit bureaus. The credit report gives an insight into the borrowing habits of the applicant.

Also, these reports show the payback pattern followed by the applicant. Late payments and dues give out a negative image of the applicant. An applicant with a demonstrated history of paying his dues on time stands a chance of being selected as a borrower.

Conditions: The underwriters have to examine the conditions which envelope the candidate and then on their discretion decide if the applicant should be given the loan amount or not. Lenders have to know if the money will be used for legal work or not.

Also, if the borrower wants to take a loan for his business, the underwriter has to analyze the economic parameters which surround his business and might affect his business in some way or the other. The period in which the loan has to be given is a very important factor and can sometimes act as a decisive factor too.

Capacity: The underwriters have to find out if the applicant can pay back his loan and various other costs associated with the loan. The underwriter determines the net worth of the person by analyzing the applicant’s income statements, assets held under his possession, the payment cycle of various bills, frequency of purchases, tax returns, etc.

Also, if the applicant has an existing loan, it is the job of the underwriter to ascertain if that person can afford to have additional debt at his disposal.

Collaterals: Collaterals are securities in the form of assets to protect the interests of the lenders. These collaterals are forfeited in case the borrower fails to pay his debts. The collateral should be of an adequate amount so that the loan gets covered.

Considerations: The underwriter must check the bank statements of the applicant and also whether or not he will be able to keep up with the additional costs associated with the loans such as down payments, interests, closing costs, etc.
After looking into all of these, the underwriter decides on approving a loan application. An underwriter can also approve the loan even if all the criteria are not being met.

How Much Do Credit Analysts Make

Last Updated on 4 years ago by Imarticus Learning

Who are Credit Analysts?

Credit analysts are professionals who are assigned the job of analyzing and concluding the creditworthiness of various customers and businesses. Most of their job includes examining the applications of credit and deciding if a particular person is worthy of the lenders’ money and can pay them back with other costs. The credit analysts also evaluate various risks associated with the credit element of the business.
Credit analysts also forecast and project future revenue streams and revenue from various fields. They also analyze various financial information like income and expense statements, profit and loss statements, cash flow statements, etc. One of the most important jobs of a credit analyst is to ascertain the creditworthiness of a person based on his or her salary or business income and then assign him a credit limit i.e. how much credit can a person take at a given time.
Credit analysts also decide on the rate of interest to be paid by the borrower on the amount of loan taken by him frequently. Credit analysts also conduct credit reviews of the current customer base and also resolve any credit-related issues their customers face. Risk analysis and trend pattern tracking are also very important functions of a credit analyst.
To become a credit analyst, one must have a bachelor’s degree in finance, business, economics or any other similar field. Some companies demand certification from specialized credit management institutes. The job of a credit analyst is laden with huge responsibilities and cannot be avoided.
Credit analysts can work for various commercial and investment banks, credit rating agencies like Standard and Poor, CRISIL, Moody’s, etc., companies that issue credit cards like American Express, Ru pay, VISA, etc. They also have to perform various quantitative analyses like ratio calculations, calculating the net worth of various assets, analyzing the industry by numbers, risk assessments and how these risks would affect the financial appetite of the company, etc.
The scope for a credit analyst is quite broad. All companies can have a credit analyst depending upon how volatile and dynamic the company is. It is a lucrative job for people who have a knack towards finance and want to make a career out of it.

How Much Do These Credit Analysts Make?

The salary of a credit analyst primarily depends on the sector they are working in. If they work for various commercial banks, they get decent pay but if they are working for an investment bank, chances/re that they are highly paid. Also, it depends from candidate to candidate and what skills and expertise he brings to the table.
The average salary of credit analysts ranges from somewhere between 72,000 USD to 132,000 USD depending on the institutions they are working for. In India, the average pay of any credit analyst is somewhere around 6.5 to 7 lakhs with companies like the State Bank of India paying them around 11 to 12 Lakh rupees annually. The role offers a lucrative salary and abundant growth opportunities. Once you become a credit analyst, you can be promoted to the role of Senior Credit Analyst with much higher pay than before. Commercial Banks like HSBC and Standard Chartered pay their credit analysts somewhere around 9 to 10 lakhs INR.
Conclusion
Credit analysts come under one of the highest-paid employees in the banking and finance sector. With a huge scope of professional development and growth, the job is a lucrative deal and has huge things in store. Though a little stressful, a credit analyst’s life is full of opportunities and is exposed to several new learnings.

How Do I Become a Risk Management Consultant?

Last Updated on 4 years ago by Imarticus Learning

What is Risk management?

Risk management is the process of analyzing risks related to finances involved in a company. It also includes micro-managing other risks associated with any business concern which might impact the overall health of the company. The business environment is uncertain hence understanding how a business will do in the future is also uncertain. Therefore, efficient risk management also means efficient forecasting of the future results and the factors which might affect the company in multiple ways. With good management of risks, loss by the way of uncertainties can be minimized to a very large extent.
Risk management is quite challenging as the risks which have not been encountered by the company yet have to predict and strategies have to be formulated to come out of such a situation safe and sound. Therefore, these activities cannot be performed by regular individuals but by those who have an area-specific knowledge and are also well versed with the tools of predicting the unseen and managing the risks associated with it efficiently and effectively.

Who can become a risk manager?

A risk manager is someone who has in-depth knowledge of how to manage the unforeseen risks associated with any particular business. Various risk management courses are available in the market which will provide a quantitative as well as a qualitative approach of dealing with companies and helping them out in predicting the future and manage the multiple risks associated with it.
People who have the mind for analyzing the shortfalls and coming up with alternative solutions are the right people for this job. It requires both an analytical as well as a creative bent of mind to become a risk manager as it involves analyzing the problem and then coming up with various new and innovative techniques to tackle and come out of those problems.

How can someone become a risk management consultant?

Risk consultants have expertise in finance, business, analytics, mathematics and all other factors which are the primary indicators of the general health and functioning of any business entity. These professionals analyze and predict the occurrence of a mishap and come up with strategies to overcome them. Such risks include losses due to policy changes, death of a member from the higher management, loss of property, a slowdown of revenues, closure of any revenue channel, etc. Various consultants have different specialization in different sectors of the economy like healthcare, pharmaceuticals, industrial goods, commercial goods, etc.
The first step of becoming a Risk Management Consultant is to get a bachelor’s degree. Only a graduate can keep his foot forward if he has an interest in taking the path of a risk management consultant. Thereafter, the individual must go for an entry-level job which should be closely related to risk management. Usually, these individuals start as finance trainees, insurance trainees or something similar. This job will help you in understanding the basics of the corporate world hence prepping you up for your career in risk management.
With more and more exposure, trainees are made to analyze and do specific researches which in turn broadens their perspectives. The next step is to become an Associate Actuary. One can do this by gaining certification through CAS or SOA. This degree will grant a professional status to risk management consultants. To become eligible for this certification, one has to pass in a series of examinations and participate in various seminars. After the above certification, one can opt for fellowship certification. This requires you to work for another 2-3 years. Along with this, an individual will have to get himself registered with federal government agencies. After all this, the individual is all set for his career in risk management. He can operate independently or as a corporate risk management consultant.

What Are The Tips To Prepare For a Hadoop Interview?

Last Updated on 4 years ago by Imarticus Learning

The popularity of big data has been growing at an immense rate opening the doorway to a spectrum of jobs that require skilled professionals. Noteworthy among these is the job of a Hadoop developer; challenging, technical and well paid, Hadoop is known to be one of the best segmentation of big data and analysis and a developing platform for candidates interested in a career in data science.
Learn Hadoop to pursue a career as a Hadoop analyst, Hadoop developer, or a Hadoop Architect, Hadoop tester among other job roles on the Hadoop platform. If you are looking for a career in this domain, it is highly essential to understand that a Hadoop developer not just created codes in programming but is also expected to have an expertise of multitasking while as his job, which includes programming in Java, writing scripts, reviewing log files, scheduling jobs across clusters on Hadoop amongst others.
Basic skill set for a Hadoop interview
Hadoop works with a number of other software like Ambari, HBase, Hive, Pig and more, therefore, knowledge of technologies is essential. While it is important to also have an idea about other visualization and ETL tools, SQL, gateway and edge nodes, basic cloud computing, some of the must-have skills an interviewee needs to possess during Hadoop training include JAVA, Hadoop Framework, Pig, HDFS, MapReduce, and Floop.
Tips to prepare for a Hadoop interview
Cracking a successful Hadoop interview does not essentially mean having specified skillsets but also ensuring that all of the interviewee’s questions are addressed. While Hadoop in big data is a relatively new concept, here are a couple of tips to help you prepare better for an upcoming Hadoop interview.
Knowledge of Programming Languages
Java experience is as important as it can since Hadoop is a software-based on Java. If your career path monitors progress from C++ to Java, nothing like it. Knowledge of other programming languages like OOAD, JS, Node.js, and HDFS only add to your skillset and make your resume stand out from the rest of the candidates.
Big Data experience
If you have experience working with big data, a Hadoop interview would be fairly easy to crack, since Hadoop is mostly built for the working of big data.
Technical Expertise
To crack a Hadoop interview, you not just need hard skills for Hadoop but also various other technologies that include Flume, Sqoop, Hive, Pig and more. These technologies often seem smaller, however, they make data processing easier on Hadoop.
Interview domains that are essential to prepare for
Along with a good grasp of relevant skill sets, listed below a couple of interview domains every interviewee needs to prepare for-
Practical experience
Theoretical knowledge is important, however, most interviewees are tested on practical knowledge. Expertise in the practical field subjects candidates to various degrees of exposure otherwise impossible by merely learning theories.
Communication Skills
Hadoop experts have to communicate with people in various other job roles, that often include engineers, analysts or even architects. In cases like these, good communication goes a long way.
Knowledge of domain
The interviewee is expected to know the A-Z of Hadoop along with its basic functionalities. You may be expected to back your interview answers with sufficient theoretical or analytical examples.
Conclusion
Big data is growing at an immense rate and more professionals are getting enthusiastic to work in the field. An extensive Hadoop training can go a long way in helping a big data enthusiast to master the best skills in the market and make it big as a professional.
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