Credit Analyst and Risk Jobs: Skills, Tools and Career Path

The short version

Credit and risk analysts help lenders decide who to lend to, how much and on what terms, and track whether loans are staying safe. It is a thinking-heavy role that suits people who like numbers and judgement.

Types of risk teams

• Credit risk: will the borrower repay?
• Market risk: how do market movements affect investments?
• Operational risk: what can go wrong in processes, systems and people?
• Fraud and financial crime: KYC, AML and fraud detection
• Model risk and validation for advanced analytics roles

What a credit analyst does

1. Collects financial statements, credit reports and business information.
2. Analyses income, cash flow, debts and ratios.
3. Assesses the borrower's character, capacity and collateral.
4. Prepares a credit note with a recommendation and key risks.
5. Monitors the borrower after the loan is given and raises early warnings.

Skills and tools

• Financial statement analysis and ratios
• Strong Excel; knowledge of SQL, Python or BI tools helps for analytics roles
• Understanding of banking products and regulations
• Clear writing for credit notes
• Judgement and healthy scepticism

Paths in

• Commerce, finance, economics or MBA graduates into trainee credit analyst roles
• Chartered accountants and finance professionals into credit and risk
• Loan processors and underwriters moving into analysis
• Data analysts moving into risk modelling

Next step

Practise analysing one company's public financial statements. Then register on JobKarle and apply to credit and risk analyst roles.