Trade Finance Officer

Our client, a leading UAE bank with an established presence in the United States, is looking for an experienced Trade Finance & Lending Operations professional to join its New York team. This is an on-site position supporting the Bank's trade finance, correspondent banking, and lending activities.

About the role

The successful candidate will work closely with customers, Head Office, international correspondent banks, and the Bank's centralized operations team to ensure transactions are processed accurately, efficiently, and in line with regulatory requirements. This is a hands-on opportunity for someone with strong Letters of Credit and Trade Finance Operations experience, along with exposure to lending operations and US banking requirements.

Responsibilities

• Manage the end-to-end processing of Letters of Credit, including issuance, amendments, advising, negotiation, discrepancy handling, and settlement.
• Examine trade documents against LC terms in accordance with UCP 600 and ISBP 745, identifying and communicating discrepancies within required timelines.
• Process LC reimbursements, standby LCs, guarantees, and collections as required.
• Handle relevant SWIFT trade finance messaging, including MT7xx series.
• Support lending operations including loan drawdowns, rollovers, repayments, rate resets, interest, and fee calculations.
• Verify credit approvals, facility documentation, and conditions prior to disbursement.
• Apply OFAC, sanctions, AML/BSA, KYC, and CDD requirements across relevant transactions.
• Identify and escalate potential sanctions, AML, and trade-based money laundering risks.
• Perform nostro/vostro reconciliations, investigate outstanding entries, and resolve payment or transaction issues.
• Work closely with correspondent banks, customers, Head Office, and the Bank's centralized operations team to resolve exceptions and queries.
• Support internal and external audits, regulatory reviews, and required reporting.
• Ensure transactions are completed accurately and within agreed SOPs, SLAs, and processing cut-offs.
• Act as designated backup to the Senior Officer – Trade Finance when required.

Requirements

• 5–6 years of Trade Finance Operations experience within a banking environment.
• Hands-on experience processing Letters of Credit and examining LC documents is essential.
• Strong practical knowledge of UCP 600 and ISBP 745.
• Experience across the LC lifecycle, including issuance, amendments, advising, negotiation, discrepancy handling, and settlement.
• Practical exposure to Lending / Loan Operations, including drawdowns, rollovers, repayments, rate resets, interest, and fee calculations.
• Familiarity with SWIFT trade finance messaging, particularly the MT7xx series.
• Good understanding of OFAC, sanctions, BSA/AML, KYC, and CDD requirements.
• Experience within a US banking environment, foreign bank branch, or correspondent banking environment is highly advantageous.
• Strong attention to detail, numerical accuracy, and the ability to work effectively under strict cut-offs, deadlines, and SLA requirements.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to deal confidently with customers, correspondent banks, and internal stakeholders.
• Ability to identify, investigate, and escalate transaction, compliance, and operational issues appropriately.
• Valid US Permanent Resident status / Green Card is mandatory.
• Must be based in New York or able and willing to work on-site in New York.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Finance, Business, Economics, Accounting, or a related field.
• CDCS or CSDG certification is advantageous.