Ratings Senior Executive, Capital Debt Advisory, London

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The Opportunity

The Debt Advisory offering is relevant to clients across a spectrum of capital considerations. The team offers truly impartial and unbiased advisory services across financing advisory, ratings advisory and hedging advisory services. In Today’s market there are an increasing number of institutions in need of independent and impartial advice in areas related to capital raising.

Ernst & Young’s Debt Advisory team plays a key role in assisting our clients with innovative solutions to capital raising. The team has experienced strong growth in recent years, and comprises of investment bankers, ex-rating agency analysts and specialist financiers with in-depth experience and a wide range of contacts in the UK and international capital markets. Due to growth, we are now seeking a highly-motivated Manager to support further growth of the business. The successful applicant will primarily support the rating advisory function within the team.

Focus of the work:

• Support clients throughout all stages of the ratings process when engaging with rating agencies to obtain a rating for the first time
• Advice to clients with existing ratings, for rating optimisation; we help clients achieve the right balance between higher credit quality and increase sponsor financial risk
• For unrated clients we assess the likely outcome of a credit ratings process to support funding options advice or debt capital raising/refinancing
• Scenario testing analysis. We provide advice on the ratings impacts of business plan changes or proposed transactions such as mergers, acquisitions, carve-out / join-ventures and dividend recaps
• We support institutional investors with credit assessments of long-term, illiquid debt as part of our independent valuation services offering
• Review of internal ratings systems for insurance companies and asset managers with the development of internal ratings, and their independent validation for stakeholders including regulators
• Coordination with colleagues executing debt financings (including unrated deals), to provide input credit considerations through all stages of transaction execution, from funding options, to preparation of lender materials and lender diligence
• Provide business development and transaction support to colleagues as needed

Our key strengths are:

• Truly independent ratings advisory services from former rating analysts
• Expertise in understanding and designing optimal capital structures for clients
• Team members have significant experience as investment principals with respect to senior debt and all forms of equity
• Deliver a comprehensive solution by leveraging all EY services
• In-depth knowledge and understanding of all segments of capital markets & sources
• Deep expertise in financial services industry with specialisation in ratings

Job responsibilities include:

• Oversee the analysis of credit assessments for institutional investors. Communicate directly with the client to ensure that any professional, technical or client service queries are resolved in a timely manner
• Lead in review of internal rating systems with support from junior members of the team
• With support from junior members of the team, review analytical commentary, credit opinions and methodology documents. Identify key rating drivers, develop a strategy for rating optimisation and advice clients accordingly
• Oversee scenario analysis and advise on the likely rating impact across various scenarios; make a recommendation on which rating agency to obtain a rating from
• Develop a network both externally with clients and across other business units within EY
• Direct a team of analysts and associates to ensure quality of end product and requests from clients are resolved in a timely manner
• Actively support with business development opportunities in collaboration with other members within the team, across the EY network and pre-identified “target” clients/sectors
• Working closely colleagues in the Debt Advisory team to support capital raising

Technical skills requirements

• 4+ years’ experience from rating advisory/rating agency
• Strong understanding of credit and ratings analysis; can quickly identify and articulate key credit drivers
• Proficiency with Microsoft Excel, Word, and PowerPoint
• Strong communication skills, both written and oral
• A strong finance, accounting, and/or economics background
• Bachelors required; MBA and/or other qualifications a plus

People responsibilities

• Project management, delegation and staff supervision are central to this role, allied to strong sector, finance experience and insight
• Self-starter and highly motivated with the ability to work independently
• Innovative approach to address clients’ needs and business opportunities

Who we are

At Ernst & Young we support you in achieving your unique potential both personally and professionally. We give you stretching and rewarding experiences that keep you motivated, working in an atmosphere of integrity and teaming with some of the world’s most successful companies. And while we encourage you to take personal responsibility for your career, we support you in your professional development in every way we can. You enjoy the flexibility to devote time to what matters to you, in your business and personal lives. At Ernst & Young you can be who you are and express your point of view, energy and enthusiasm, wherever you are in the world. It’s how you make a difference.