Trade Finance Advisor

First Citizens Bank•Santa Clara, CA

12h•Onsite

About The Position

This role involves advising, confirming, negotiating, examining, and settling Letters of Credit (LC) and Documentary Collections. The Trade Finance Advisor will report directly to the Director, Trade Finance, and will leverage their expertise in LCs and documentary collections to perform client-facing and consulting roles. Key responsibilities include developing and maintaining client relationships, providing advisory services on structuring and developing documentary requirements, identifying and mitigating risks, resolving issues, assisting clients with document preparation, examining and negotiating documents for compliance, facilitating document forwarding for payment collection, offering and facilitating financing through bill discounting and purchasing, settling LCs and documentary credit bills, screening for compliance matters (OFAC, BSA/AML, BIS Anti-Boycott), managing partner bank relationships, providing client and regulatory reporting, and educating stakeholders on trade finance products. The role also requires developing industry visibility.

Requirements

Bachelor's Degree and 2 years of experience in Trade Finance OR High School Diploma or GED and 6 years of experience in Trade Finance
Excellent Trade Finance and financial service background required, with over 5+ years in Trade Finance at a financial institution.
Bachelor’s degree or equivalent work experience.
Thorough knowledge of international rules and practices (UCP600, ISP98, URDG758, URR 725, URC 522)
Thorough knowledge of INCOTERMS.
Excellent leadership skills.
Excellent customer service skills and relationship skills.
Excellent planning, multi-tasking and organization skills.
Excellent problem solving and critical thinking skills.
Customer-focused with excellent interpersonal skills.
Excellent verbal and written communications skills and ability to communicate and influence at an appropriate level.
Proactive and self-motivated with ability to work independently with minimal supervision and under tight deadlines.
Proven ability to meet new challenges, assimilate new information and to influence people through maturity of approach.
Ability to make sound and reliable decisions under supervision.
Ability to work independently with no supervision from the manager.

Responsibilities

Work independently with general guidance from the Director, Trade Finance.
Review standby, imports and export letters of credit issued by FCB or received from other domestic or foreign banks, ensuring terms and conditions are workable and neutral.
Identify anomalous terms and/or irregular/prohibited languages on the letter of credit and mitigate associated risks for the client and the bank.
Hold calls/meetings with clients to interpret terms and conditions of the letter of credit, ensure compliance with documentary requirements, and provide guidance to avoid issues.
Examine commercial, legal, transport, title, and insurance documents against letter of credit terms and conditions to ensure adherence. Work with clients to resolve discrepancies.
Offer, sign-up, and facilitate trade financing solutions to clients through bills discounting and bills purchasing.
Review and handle amendments of letters of credit, ensuring requested changes are executed correctly and communicating revisions to the client.
Handle and facilitate Documentary Collection processes and settlements, including risk mitigation and problem-solving.
Structure SWIFT messages to communicate with partner banks and correspondent banks regarding letter of credit terms and conditions or to respond to inquiries.
Work closely with internal stakeholders such as the Relationship Team, Risk Group, Compliance, Legal, Credit Administration, Accounting, Finance, and Loans to address and resolve complex issues related to letters of credit, including reviews for BSA/AML, Anti-Boycott, Sanctions, and OFAC violations.
Participate in departmental and bank-wide initiatives and projects.
Perform any additional tasks assigned by Trade Finance management.