Title
Manager, Credit Risk Strategy, Royal Bank of Canada

Tell us a bit about your work as a Manager, Credit Risk Strategy? What are some of the challenges and opportunities that you face? 
Credit Risk strategies are designed to help banks make appropriate decisions when it comes to extending credit to clients. This may include strategies for clients applying for new products (e.g. mortgage, line of credit, car loan, small business loan) or existing clients requesting a limit increase.

I really enjoy the work as it is intellectually stimulating. An added bonus is that my work focuses on the US and Caribbean markets these days. I get to work on leading edge projects. It’s very satisfying to know that our work helps ease and speed credit decisions with prudence for the benefit of the clients and the bank.

One challenge with our type of work is that there is no ‘recipe’ book and there is seldom enough data, so one needs to be creative and flexible. We are constantly striving to ‘invent’ better ways to do things.

Do you have a piece of advice for aspiring young men and women who wish to be successful in your field?
To succeed in this field, one needs to be analytical and able to communicate equally well with business and technical partners. One should be comfortable analyzing data, and recommending strategies based on the insights gained from the analysis. Communication skills are critical as one has to ‘sell’ one’s recommendations to multiple internal partners who will be impacted by credit risk strategies.

You know the meaning of the word “Manyatta”, but what does this group mean to you?
I have had an opportunity to visit a Manyatta while in Kenya. As with any community, members of this group have different skills that can be used for the benefit of all. I think of this Manyatta group as a forum that gives members the opportunity to share their skills or experiences with others, while also benefiting from the contributions of others.

How to reach you ? 
LinkedIn: Amadou Wane