Director, Ratings Advisory

**Director, Ratings Advisory**

ING Wholesale Banking (WB) is looking to hire a Director, Ratings Advisory in Singapore.

Ratings Advisory (RA) is embedded under the Strategic Products Group, working alongside Capital Structuring & Advisory (CS&A) teams. The Ratings Advisory team produces and signs-off on internal estimations of S&P, Moody’s, Fitch, or other rating outcomes for corporate debt transactions being led mainly by Acquisition Finance, Debt Capital Markets, Capital Structuring & Advisory (Debt Advisory) and other Sector and Lending Serviced teams in ING Wholesale Banking across APAC. The efforts of RA will also be extended in M&A or event-driven situations where credit ratings would determine the attractiveness of our holistic advisory proposal to core APAC clients.

Based in Singapore, you will collaborate with the broader Europe based team as a dedicated resource to clients across APAC. In addition, the role will involve taking the lead in the execution of external Ratings Advisory mandates in conjunction with senior front office roles being undertaken, typically, by Acquisition Finance (term loan B and high-yield bonds) and DCM (investment grade and high-yield).

Ratings Advisory will work alongside the CS&A team in contributing to origination, structuring and execution of event driven, transformational, complex and multi-product financing solutions as part of ING’s Strategic Products Group which comprises of M&A and Capital Markets.

This role will report regionally to APAC Head of Capital Structuring & Advisory & functionally to Global Head of Ratings Advisory.
**Job description**:

- **Develop and execute an APAC centric strategy for ING’s Ratings Advisory capability in APAC** - As the Singapore based team will represent a new geographical component of ING’s Ratings Advisory product offering, it will be essential to fact find, take initiative to build consensus with key internal partners and develop the product for the mutual benefit of both ING and its clients across Singapore.
- **Primary production of rating analysis** - Personally, as lead, review transactions and associated debt structures prepared by deal teams across the Wholesale Bank in APAC primarily related to corporate issuers, sponsor-backed issuers and projects to form a rating outcome view (a ‘rating opinion’). This will involve the detailed analysis of industry risk, business risk, key credit risks, business insight, management/corporate governance, financial risk and specific debt/legal structures, amongst other factors. Effectively, you will be striving to act as an internal ratings agency, simulating the outcomes of, primarily, the ‘big-3’ external ratings agencies. The insight you provide will be core to the marketing and execution efforts of ING’s front office teams in the region.
- **Authorization of rating opinions** - As well as production of primary ratings analysis, you will sign-off on any ratings opinions (partly) produced by the APAC team supporting Ratings Advisory (currently Capital Structure & Advisory). You do so independently and primarily without reference to the global team head in the day-to-day execution of your role.
- **Execution of external Ratings Advisory mandates** - You lead unrated (and sometimes already rated) corporate and sponsor-backed issuers through the process to optimize rating outcomes. This includes commercial discussions with the rating agencies, as well as managing the logistics of rating book production and rating agency management meetings.
- **Pitching** - You lead both the production of content (with junior support from Capital Structuring & Advisory) and external delivery of rating related client pitches across a variety of sectors. There will also be a need to contribute from a Ratings perspective to strategic advisory across integrated debt (bonds, loans), M&A, equity, credit ratings and hedging solutions.
- **Participate in internal Credit and Commercial Committees**: Opine in Regional Green Light and Underwriting Committee APAC as needed.
- Coaching, training and development of junior team members

**Your work environment**
The RA member will be part of a 7 member team, including CS&A team in Singapore (4 professionals) and Hong Kong (2 professionals). CS&A further consists of a global platform of c. 45 professionals in Amsterdam, Brussels, Singapore, Paris, Germany, New York, Singapore, Hong Kong and Madrid. Involved in high profile deals with significant internal and public (press) exposure. Current CS&A and RA platform is strong, providing an excellent platform for further growth and innovation. CS&A acts product neutral as the ‘spider in the web’ coordinator in multi-product transactions, in close cooperation with the relationship manager, sector and various product specialists.

**Your profile**

Knowledge and experience:

- Material relevant experience of > 10 years, as a corporate credit analyst at Moody's, S&P or Fitch or as a Ratings Advisor wit