Associate, Fund Finance Credit Underwriting & Portfolio Management (First Line of Defense)

Associate, Fund Finance Credit Underwriting & Portfolio Management (First Line of Defense) Country: It Starts Here:
Santander is a global leader and innovator in the financial services industry and is evolving from a high-impact brand into a technology-driven organization. Our people are at the heart of this journey and together, we are driving a customer-centric transformation that values bold thinking, innovation, and the courage to challenge what’s possible. This is more than a strategic shift.

The Difference You Make

The Associate role sits within Santander Corporate & Investment Banking and functions as a First Line of Defense credit role supporting the underwriting, structuring, execution, and active portfolio management of fund finance transactions for private capital clients, including private equity, credit, infrastructure, and other alternative asset managers. The role operates as a credit function and maintains direct accountability for credit analysis, transaction execution, portfolio monitoring, and ongoing risk management throughout the life of the exposure.

The Associate is expected to exercise independent credit judgment and demonstrate ownership of assigned transactions and portfolio exposures while partnering effectively with Product, Capital Markets, Legal, and Independent Risk. Reporting to the Head of Fund Finance Credit Portfolio Management, this role offers exposure to the full transaction lifecycle and is designed for a highly motivated professional seeking to develop deep expertise in fund finance underwriting, portfolio management, and credit risk management.

Serve as a First Line of Defense credit professional responsible for the preparation, analysis, and ongoing management of credit exposures, ensuring the accuracy and completeness of underwriting, due diligence, and supporting documentation. Support the underwriting and structuring of subscription lines, NAV, hybrid, EBL and other transactions including new originations, refinancings, extensions, upsizes, and amendments.

Prepare comprehensive credit approval packages, including borrowing base evaluation, liquidity analysis, financial modeling, stress testing, risk rating assessment, and due diligence review. Deliver high-quality work product with a strong focus on credit risk assessment, transaction structuring, and execution discipline. Develop and defend clear, concise, and judgment-driven credit recommendations that articulate key risks, mitigants, structural protections, and alignment with Santander's credit standards and risk appetite framework.

Portfolio Management
Independently manage a portfolio of fund finance transactions, demonstrating command of product knowledge, financing structure, and client requests. Own post-close credit monitoring activities, including covenant compliance, borrowing base performance, collateral quality assessment, investor concentration reviews, annual reviews, periodic risk-rating assessments, amendment requests, consent requests, waiver requests, and renewals.

Identify emerging risks and proactively escalate adverse developments, covenant breaches, collateral deterioration, sponsor concerns, or other material credit events. Monitor portfolio trends, performance metrics, concentration exposures, and emerging risks, providing meaningful insights to senior management and risk partners. Perform periodic and annual credit reviews of assigned exposures, reassessing performance, collateral quality, sponsor strength, and risk profile. Review analyst work product for quality, accuracy, consistency, and adherence to underwriting standards.

Mentor and develop junior team members while fostering a culture of accountability, collaboration, and credit discipline. Participate in strategic initiatives related to process improvement, technology implementation, data management, and regulatory readiness. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Accounting, Economics, Business, Engineering, Mathematics, or a related analytical or quantitative discipline
Strong academic foundation in financial analysis, corporate finance, or accounting
Exposure through coursework to alternative investments, private equity, real assets, or capital markets viewed positively
2-6 years of experience in commercial banking, investment banking, leveraged finance, structured finance, fund finance, private credit, corporate banking, or other credit-intensive financial services roles.
~ Prior exposure to subscription facilities, NAV-based lending, other fund-level financing structures or ABL is a plus but not a requirement.
~ Strong project-management skills with the ability to manage multiple transactions and competing deadlines.
~ Demonstrated accountability, intellectual curiosity, and sound judgment in assessing risk.
~ Strong financial statement analysis and credit underwriting skills.
~ Advanced Microsoft Excel and financial modeling capabilities.
~ Ability to build effective working relationships across Front Office, Risk, Legal, Operations, and senior management.

Other: Completion of bank-certified course in Credit Training - Preferred.
Established work history or equivalent demonstrated through a combination of work experience, training, military service, or education.
Applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis without requiring employer sponsorship to commence employment.
For hourly positions (non-exempt), the annual range is based on a 40-hour work week. The exact compensation may vary based on skills, experience, training, licensure and certifications and location.

Risk Culture

We embrace a strong risk culture and all of our professionals at all levels are expected to take a proactive and responsible approach toward risk management.
All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, genetics, disability, age, veteran status or any other characteristic protected by law.
Depending on location, occasional moving and lifting light equipment and/or furniture may be required.

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You may be evaluated in part based upon your performance of the tasks listed in this job description. This job description is not a contract for employment and either you or the employer may terminate your employment at any time for any reason.
We are committed to providing an inclusive and accessible application process for all candidates. If you require any assistance or accommodation due to a disability or any other reason, please contact us at [TAOps@santander.