Credit Manager - Retail

Role overview

This position focuses on handling credit and risk operations for assigned retail loan cases within the company’s underwriting framework. The goal is to support strong portfolio quality by making sound approval decisions, assessing borrower risk and creditworthiness, and working closely with Sales, Operations, and Technical teams to ensure disciplined risk controls.

Organization context

The company is part of the Aditya Birla Financial Services Group and operates as a housing finance company registered with the National Housing Bank under the National Housing Bank Act, 1987. Its lending portfolio spans home loans, home improvement loans, home construction loans, balance transfer and top-up loans, loans against property, and construction finance. The organization received its licence on 9 July 2014 and is pursuing aggressive growth.

The business operates in the Indian housing finance market, estimated at Rs. 11.4 trillion, which has grown at a 17% CAGR over the last three years. Even with a challenging operating environment, asset quality has remained strong. The market remains led by a few large groups, while newer participants have expanded in niche areas such as affordable housing and self-employed borrowers. HFCs have continued to hold a stable share of about 37% of the mortgage market as of December 2015.

Job context and challenges

The risk function is central to underwriting and to maintaining business health, control standards, and long-term sustainability. It works in a paired structure alongside Sales and Sourcing teams, with aligned positions across the organisation. In addition to control checks and underwriting discipline, the team also contributes to evaluating growth opportunities together with Sales.

One important challenge in this role is construction risk, since under-construction projects may face completion delays or failure. The risk team must build this factor into controls and evaluation methods. The function also needs to balance business expansion with risk discipline, particularly because the company is in an early growth stage and must avoid higher sub-prime exposure. Since housing practices and regulatory interpretations vary by state and stakeholder, the role requires continuous awareness of regional norms and compliance expectations while still supporting growth objectives.

Key responsibilities

• Run risk and credit operations for assigned cases in line with the approved underwriting framework and business principles.
• Review loan proposals and make decisions within the delegated approval matrix, while taking guidance from senior stakeholders on complex matters and supporting peers where needed.
• Coordinate with legal, technical, and verification partners for due diligence, clarification, and assessment support in difficult cases.
• Track bounce rates and ensure they remain within the defined thresholds.
• Work efficiently with Credit Processing Analysts and Credit Analysts so that files are logged correctly and reviewed in depth.
• Partner with Sales and Operations through process-led coordination for decisions, issue resolution, and escalation where required.
• Manage external vendors to maintain report quality and turnaround time.
• Monitor costs and keep them within planned budget levels.
• Ensure accurate data entry in the loan origination system and maintain strong documentation standards.
• Follow up and collect post-disbursal documents within the required timeframe.
• Carry out risk operations using the maker-checker process across exceptions, collateral valuation, post-disbursal document completion, cheque bounce collections, and other local risk activities.
• Prepare periodic and need-based MIS, reports, and escalation-related documentation.
• Keep audit observations to a minimum and close all observations within the prescribed turnaround time.
• Work with Collections and Operations teams to monitor delinquency and support efficient recovery actions.
• Escalate complex or specific cases to the Regional Credit Manager to help prevent delinquency and non-performing asset formation.
• Track delinquent portfolios and coordinate with key customers to support resolution efforts.
• Report suspected fraud cases to the Risk Monitoring team and the Regional/Zonal Risk Head.
• Work with Sales and Operations on case-by-case decisions that support sustainable business growth.
• Continue building capability in legal and technical documentation, property market practices, and underwriting judgment.
• Maintain strong working relationships with internal stakeholders to ensure smooth handling of complex, exception, and escalation cases.

Requirements

• Qualified Chartered Accountant or MBA in Finance.
• Minimum 4 to 7 years of overall experience in a bank, NBFC, or HFC.
• At least the most recent 2 to 3 years should be in risk and underwriting within an HFC.
• Strong commercial understanding and business acumen.
• Good analytical ability and comfort with credit/risk assessment.
• Effective stakeholder management and presentation skills.
• Ability to manage teams and execute work with discipline.
• Practical knowledge of legal and technical documents, property-related processes, and underwriting controls.

Additional information

The role requires close coordination across functions and a strong balance between risk control and business enablement. It also involves working within state-specific norms, regulatory expectations, and internal approval standards while supporting growth and portfolio quality.