Head of FI

Fulcrum Pvt. Limited · Karachi division, Pakistan

The Head of Financial Institutions is a senior leadership role focused on developing the institution's Financial Institutions franchise. Key responsibilities include business development, relationship management, portfolio growth, and ensuring profitability and compliance, while building strategic relationships with domestic and international financial institutions.

Job Role / Major Responsibilities

Key Job Responsibilities

• Develop and execute the FI business strategy for the bank, covering banks, DFIs, NBFIs, insurance companies, payment rails, access, fintechs, exchange companies, BaaS and other financial institutions.
• Own the FI portfolio , including revenue, profitability, asset growth, trade finance, guarantees, FX, cash management and other banking products.
• Build and maintain senior-level relationships with local and international banks, DFIs, multilateral institutions, development finance institutions and other strategic financial-sector partners.
• Develop correspondent banking relationships , including nostro/vostro accounts, RMA relationships, trade corridors, payment arrangements and international banking partnerships.
• Maintain strong knowledge of the competitive landscape , including pricing, products, correspondent networks and strategies of major banks operating in Pakistan.
• Originate new business opportunities and cross-sell the bank's lending, trade finance, treasury, cash management, guarantees, structured finance and risk-management solutions.
• Lead credit origination and portfolio management for FI counterparties, ensuring appropriate financial analysis, credit assessment, exposure limits and risk mitigation.
• Monitor FI credit quality and counterparty risk , including country risk, sovereign risk, liquidity, capital adequacy and financial performance.
• Ensure compliance with SBP regulations and internal policies , particularly requirements relating to correspondent banking, KYC/CDD, AML/CFT, sanctions and transaction monitoring. SBP specifically requires banks to conduct appropriate due diligence on correspondent institutions and assess their AML/KYC frameworks.
• Manage FI-related regulatory and compliance reviews , including responses to correspondent-bank questionnaires, requests for information and periodic KYC/AML reviews.
• Manage the annual business plan and financial targets , including revenue, profitability, balance-sheet utilization, client acquisition and portfolio growth.
• Identify market trends and emerging opportunities across Pakistan's banking and financial-services sector and translate them into commercial opportunities.
• Represent the bank with senior stakeholders , including CEOs/CFOs/Treasurers of financial institutions, regulators, government bodies, international banks and development institutions.
• Lead negotiations on credit facilities, correspondent banking arrangements, bilateral limits, trade lines, guarantees, deposits and strategic partnerships.
• Coordinate with Credit, Risk, Compliance, Legal, Operations and Treasury to ensure transactions are properly structured, approved, documented and executed.
• Support the bank's international business strategy , including relationships with global correspondent banks, ECAs, multilaterals and international financial institutions.
• Ensure appropriate governance and risk controls across the FI portfolio and elevate material credit, compliance, reputational or operational risks to senior management.

Required Qualification

Bachelor’s degree in finance, Economics, Business Administration, or a related discipline.

Professional qualifications such as CFA or FRM certification will be preferred.

Required Skills

Strong experience in managing bank-to-bank relationships, FX/money market lines, counterparty limits, and correspondent banking arrangements.

Experience in Islamic banking or Shariah-compliant financial products/transactions would be preferred.

Strong understanding of SBP regulations, banking products, FX markets, AML/CFT and counterparty risk.

Required Experience

10 years of experience in FI, treasury, Correspondent Banking, or related areas.