DIRESH NAICKER

• Managing the entire credit function from credit origination & evaluation to portfolio management, credit rehabilitation and recoveries.
• Ensuring optimal credit quality by application of prudent and pragmatic best practices in decision-making.
• Directing the banks lending strategy through the development and on-going revision of credit risk appetite strategies and frameworks.
• Applying forward-looking credit analytics to proactively review credit risk appetite in accordance with the macroeconomic landscape.
• Developing effective rehabilitation and recovery strategies to minimise bad debt and credit losses.
• Ensuring the adequacy of portfolio provisioning and coverage levels.
• Ongoing review and improvement to the operational controls and processes to drive efficiencies and minimise operational incidents.
• Chairing multiple monthly credit portfolio review committees.

Key Achievements

• Spearheaded a successful bad-debt recoveries project that reduced non-performing loans (NPLs) from +39% to 7% within 24 months (2018-2020).
• Enabled business development via several lending initiatives which facilitated nearly 60% loans growth in 12 months (2021-2022).
• Lifted the banks provision coverage ratios to industry-wide benchmark levels.

• Managing the entire corporate credit function from credit origination & evaluation to portfolio management, credit rehabilitation and recoveries.
• Processing approvals within country mandate & making recommendations to Barclays Africa wholesale credit committees.
• Chairing multiple monthly credit portfolio review committees.
• Close working engagement with business partners to provide credit solutioning.
• Managed & delivered several change & remediation projects to conform to Barclays Africa credit policies and procedures.

• Processing approvals within personal lending mandate of ZAR 50m (RSA) & USD4m (ABSA Africa).
• Managed a dedicated corporate portfolio with total assets of USD500m.
• Recommended credit proposals to ABSA Group Credit committee & ABSA Africa Credit Committee.
• Conducted in-country visits to facilitate business development.

• Credit origination & presentation for approvals to credit committees.
• Partnering with business stakeholders and clients to facilitate new business development.
• Effectively managing credit risk through on-going portfolio management.

• Managed the credit department including all reporting, documentation and record-keeping requirements.