Portfolio Manager I

Sovereign Bancorp, Inc., ("Sovereign") (NYSE: SOV), is the parent company of Sovereign Bank, a financial institution with $85 billion in assets as of December 31, 2007 with principal markets in the Northeast United States. Sovereign Bank has 750 community banking offices, over 2,300 ATMs and approximately 12,000 team members.  Sovereign offers a broad array of financial services and products including retail banking, business and corporate banking, cash management, capital markets, wealth management and insurance. Sovereign is the 19th largest banking institution in the United States.  For more information on Sovereign Bank, visit or call 1-877-SOV-BANK.

 

RESPONSIBILITIES:

 

A Portfolio Manager (PM) performs a key role in managing the credit integrity of the Capital Markets Structured Products Group's (SPG) National Mortgage Finance portfolio. The PM will oversee and manage the credit work flow of all PM's assigned to the SPG.  PM responsibilities include preparing deal proposals for discussion with the Bank¿s senior management, managing the underwriting process by working closely with the Structured Products Officers (SPO) and Credit Management.  On an on going basis, a PM is responsible for monitoring credit performance, working with Loan Review and the Senior Credit Officer (SCO), and for managing the interface with the Capital Markets Operations Group and Loan Administration.


Underwriting / Structuring and Financial Analysis:
1- Analyze and interpret financial information by reviewing customer financial statements and business platform;
2- Evaluate customer's financial performance and ability to meet facility repayment requirements under various economic conditions and access potential credit risk;
3- Underwrite and structure product requests in concert with Sovereign¿s credit policies,
4- Perform extensive due diligence including ¿Know Your Customer¿ investigation and various reference checkings;
5- Work with counsel to prepare and review loan documentation.


Portfolio/Credit Management:
1- PM will be responsible for managing from 20 to 30 relationships with total commitments up to $2BN (facility sizes from $20MM to $100MM). 
2- Monitor customer performance through financial analyses and reviews of compliance and collateral management to ensure the on-going soundness of the portfolio;
3- Monitor the monthly performance of assigned warehouse relationships to ensure that borrowing base parameters are being maintained;
4- Monitor and adjust risk rating for each relationship in the portfolio in conjunction with the SPO and SCO;
5- Identify areas of loan risk and recommend changes to SPG policies and procedures as appropriate;
6- Manage the interface with the Collateral Agents, Capital Markets Operations and Loan Administration.


Customer Support:
1- Assist in the development of the SPG customer by providing high quality support directly to customers and prospects; 
2- Work with business partners to deliver timely and accurate responses to customer inquiries; 
3- Participate in customer meetings as requested by the SPO(s).

 

REQUIREMENTS:

 

- Minimum 5 years of commerical credit experience;
- Bachelor's degree in Finance, Accounting or Economics and commercial credit training program.  A MBA preferred;
- Results oriented with an ability to accomplish objectives in a specified timeframe;
- Excellent analytical, problem-solving and organizational skills;
- Strong customer service orientation;
- Self starter with good interpersonal skills;
- Strong verbal and written communication skills;
- Ability to work well within a structured team environment.
- Must be proficient in financial analysis utilizing Moody¿s Financial Analysis program for spreading historical financial information as well as due diligence search engines including Lexis Nexus, MARI and OFAC.

- MIS skills must include Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint.
- A basic understanding of the mortgage industry and secondary market.

 

To apply to this position:

 

Please go to www.sovereignbank.com, select the “About Sovereign” tab, and then select the “Careers” tab. This will take you to a screen where you will select “Employment Opportunities”. Chose the “Advanced Search” and fill in Job ID# 32903. Select the position for which you are applying and please upload OR copy and paste your resume onto the application.