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Credit Analyst Career Guide

Credit analysts assess the financial health of individuals or businesses to determine their creditworthiness. They analyze financial statements, evaluate risks, and support lending decisions to protect institutional stability. Here’s what the role involves and how to prepare for it.

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The key points

  • Entry requirements Post-baccalaureate level training in Finance, Economics, and Banking
  • Average salary Average annual starting salary (between 28,000 and 35,000 euros gross per year)
  • Miniature horloge Duties Assess the claimant’s ability to repay - Then set the terms of the loan contract - Draft a written response
  • Miniature discussion Skills Rigor - Ability to analyze and summarize - Ability to make decisions - Critical thinking
  • Miniature sacoche Career progression Analyste financier - Gestionnaire des risques - Back-office responsable
  • Pictogramme campus ISC Paris courses Bachelor in Banking and Finance - Master in Finance - MSc in Finance and Risk Management

What does a Credit Analyst do?

Credit analysts generally work for banks or credit institutions. They are responsible for assessing the creditworthiness of loan applicants (individuals or businesses) in order to decide whether or not to grant them the requested loan.

To do this, they carefully analyse a wide range of data:

  • For individuals, they mainly focus on their income, its stability and the amount of their personal contribution.
  • For a company, they request to see its annual accounts and analyse its market position in relation to its competitors.

Depending on the company they work for, they may be able to decide whether or not to grant a loan themselves and issue a positive or negative opinion to a committee responsible for making the final decision.

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What does the job of Credit Analyst involve?

How to become a Credit Analyst?

To become a credit analyst, you must have a five-year degree in banking or finance.

Experience in the field is often a prerequisite, which means that work-study programmes are preferable. It should also be noted that proficiency in English is an added bonus in the eyes of recruiters.

Several university bachelor’s degrees allow students to obtain a three-year degree before continuing on to a specialized master’s degree.

Some bachelor’s degrees also provide access to employment, notably the Bachelor’s in Banking and Finance from ISC Paris. Offered on the Paris and Orléans campuses, this programme is taught in French and English, with a third year offered as a work-study programme. This is a highly professionalizing course, ideal for increasing your employability.

Here are some of the master’s degrees to consider if you want to pursue this career:

Master of Science (MSc) degrees are also worth considering, such as the MSc in Finance and Risk Management (full english), which opens the door to a career as a credit analyst.

Trainings to become a Credit Analyst proposed by ISC Paris

STUDY AT ISC PARIS…
with a Bachelor in Banking and Finance
STUDY AT ISC PARIS…
with a Master in Finance
STUDY AT ISC PARIS…
with MSc in Finance and Risk management

The main skills of a Credit Analyst

1) Financial analysis skills: this professional bases their decisions on concrete data and figures. They know how to assess a credit applicant’s borrowing capacity, in particular by calculating their debt ratio. They are not afraid of numbers; on the contrary, they use them to measure each customer’s creditworthiness.

2) Good knowledge of the banking sector: credit analysts have a thorough understanding of the banking environment. They are familiar with the products and services offered by their company, keep an eye on the competition, and are knowledgeable about the main regulations in force. They stay up to date with changes in legal and financial standards.

3) Proficiency in various IT tools: to process files efficiently, they use various IT tools on a daily basis. Excel, decision support software, specialized tools… credit analysts know how to use them to automate certain tasks and thus increase productivity.

What soft skills do you need to be a Credit Analyst?

  • Rigour
  • Analytical and summarising skills
  • Investigative skills
  • Decision-making skills
  • Critical thinking
  • Appetite for figures
  • Interpersonal skills

What are the career opportunities for a credit analyst?

There are many career paths open to credit analysts. They may initially choose to specialize in a particular type of credit or client. Over the course of their career, these analysis experts may also be eligible for management or executive positions. Here are a few examples of possible career paths:

HOW MUCH DOES A CREDIT ANALYST EARN?
What is the salary of a junior credit analyst?
The average monthly salary for a junior credit manager is €3,000 gross and can reach €4,000 gross, representing an annual salary of €36,000 to €48,000 gross. This remuneration includes a fixed portion and a variable portion, and depends on several factors, such as the size of the company, its sector of activity and its location. In the Paris region, credit managers’ salaries are on average 20% higher than those in other regions of France. In addition, professionals at the start of their careers, with a high level of education and experience in the field (particularly through work-study programmes), can expect higher salaries.
HOW MUCH DOES A CREDIT ANALYST EARN?
What is the salary of a senior credit analyst?
With five years of experience, a credit manager’s salary ranges from €50,000 to €65,000 gross per year, or approximately €4,150 to €5,400 gross per month. With six or more years of experience, a credit manager can expect an annual salary of over €75,000 gross. In addition to their salary, various benefits are often offered, such as a 13th month’s salary, health insurance or meal vouchers. It should be noted that the remuneration of a senior credit manager depends mainly on the size of the company and their experience. Salaries in international groups are generally higher than in national structures.