Chief Risk Officer (CRO)

thehivecareers.co

About The Position

The Chief Risk Officer (CRO) – Retail Banking establishes and leads the enterprise-wide risk management framework for the retail banking business. The CRO oversees credit, operational, market, liquidity, compliance, fraud, cyber, conduct, and reputational risks, ensuring alignment with the bank’s strategic objectives, regulatory requirements, and risk appetite. The role provides independent oversight and challenge to business activities to safeguard the institution’s financial stability, customers, and reputation while enabling sustainable growth. The CRO oversees retail credit portfolios and establishes underwriting standards and credit policies; leads risk identification, monitoring, mitigation, stress testing, and scenario analysis; and supports risk-adjusted lending strategies. The role also leads operational risk, compliance and conduct risk, fraud and financial crime, market and liquidity risk, cybersecurity and technology risk, and risk governance and reporting activities. The position presents risk reports to executive management, risk committees, and the Board; develops key risk indicators and dashboards; and ensures significant issues are escalated. It leads multidisciplinary risk teams, develops future risk leaders and succession plans, and promotes accountability, integrity, transparency, and collaboration across business, compliance, audit, and technology functions.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Economics, Accounting, Business Administration, Risk Management, Mathematics, or a related discipline.
15+ years of progressive banking and risk management experience.
Extensive experience within retail banking risk management.
Proven leadership experience overseeing enterprise risk functions.
Experience interacting with regulators, boards, and executive committees.
Strong understanding of consumer lending, deposits, payments, and digital banking.
Experience leading large, multidisciplinary risk teams.
Technical competencies include enterprise risk management (ERM), retail credit risk, operational risk, regulatory compliance, financial crime risk, fraud risk management, AML/KYC frameworks, market risk, liquidity risk, capital adequacy management, cybersecurity risk, operational resilience, stress testing, risk analytics and modeling, and governance, risk and compliance (GRC).
Leadership competencies include strategic leadership, risk-based decision making, executive communication, board and regulatory engagement, crisis management, ethical leadership, stakeholder management, change leadership, problem solving, and team development.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree (MBA, Finance, Economics, Risk Management, or related field).
Financial Risk Manager (FRM) certification.
Professional Risk Manager (PRM) certification.
Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) certification.
Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS) certification.

Responsibilities

Develop and maintain the retail banking risk management framework.
Establish risk appetite statements, risk limits, and governance standards.
Ensure effective identification, assessment, monitoring, and mitigation of risks.
Provide independent oversight and challenge of business decisions and strategic initiatives.
Promote a strong risk culture throughout the organization.
Oversee retail credit portfolios, including mortgages, personal loans, credit cards, auto loans, and consumer finance products.
Establish underwriting standards and credit policies; monitor portfolio quality, delinquency trends, and loss performance.
Lead stress testing and credit risk scenario analyses and recommend risk-adjusted lending strategies.
Develop frameworks to identify and manage operational risks; monitor incidents, control failures, and emerging risks.
Oversee business continuity and operational resilience programs and strengthen internal controls and risk reporting.
Ensure effective risk and control self-assessment processes.
Ensure compliance with banking regulations and consumer protection laws; oversee conduct risk management and fair customer treatment initiatives.
Maintain relationships with regulatory authorities, lead regulatory examinations and risk-related audits, and ensure implementation of regulatory changes and risk controls.
Oversee fraud prevention, detection, and investigation programs.
Strengthen anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorist financing controls; monitor financial crime risks and emerging threats.
Ensure effective transaction monitoring and suspicious activity reporting; collaborate with law enforcement and regulatory agencies when necessary.
Monitor interest rate and liquidity risk exposures, evaluate balance sheet vulnerabilities and stress scenarios, and support asset-liability management activities.
Ensure adherence to regulatory capital and liquidity requirements.
Oversee technology and cyber risk governance, assess cybersecurity threats and resilience capabilities, and ensure robust controls for digital banking platforms.
Monitor third-party and vendor risk exposures and support digital transformation initiatives through effective risk management.
Present risk reports to Executive Management, Risk Committees, and the Board.
Develop key risk indicators (KRIs) and risk dashboards and ensure timely escalation of significant risk issues.
Maintain effective risk governance structures and committee frameworks.
Lead risk management teams across multiple disciplines; develop future risk leaders and succession plans.
Foster accountability, integrity, and transparency and promote collaboration across business, compliance, audit, and technology functions.