National Consultant (Financial Institutions, SME Lending)

Terms of Reference

Position: National Consultant (Financial Institutions, SME Lending)

Professional Group: National Consultant, Senior Private Sector Development Specialist, Private Sector Development, Private Sector Financial Institutions

Expertise: Economics; Finance and Banking;

Objective and Purpose of the Assignment 

About the Asian Development Bank (ADB): ADB is committed to achieving a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific while sustaining its efforts to eradicate extreme poverty. Established in 1966, it is owned by 68 members, 49 of whom are from the region. For more information, visit www.adb.org.

About the Private Sector Development (PSD) unit in the Viet Nam Resident Misson (VRM): ADB established the PSD unit in VRM to foster private sector participation and investment opportunities downstream. Through this work, PSD supports and/or leads the design, development, and implementation of high-quality upstream initiatives and activities in Viet Nam, including sector analysis, assessment of market creation potential, and enablement of regulatory environment to unlock opportunities for private investment. PSD also works in midstream investment, focusing on joint implementation of the Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative (We-fi) through technical assistance, performance-based incentives and investment to increase access to finance for women-led SMEs.

PSD currently administers and supports 11 Technical Assistance (TA) projects across multiple sectors and thematic areas, including regulatory development for fintech and digital finance, operationalization of the PPP law, improving the enabling of the corporate bond market, and institutional strengthening of domestic credit rating agencies. Through this work, PSD helps establish the necessary conditions that will attract the most private capital, enabling the private sector to grow.

About ADB Private Sector Financial Institutions (PSFI) Division: PSFI works through financial institutions to provide much-needed access to finance for millions of individuals and micro, small, and medium enterprises that ADB would never be able to reach directly. PSFI engages in a wide range of theme including Climate Finance, Digital Financial Inclusion, Banking to Micro/Small/Women businesses, Insurance, Capital Markets.

Scope of Work 

The National Consultant in Financial Sector will report to the PSD team in Viet Nam and work closely with PSFI staff based in Bangkok and Manila.

The scope of work entails supporting PSD efforts in Viet Nam to design a growing pipeline of Sustainability Finance and Financial Inclusion transactions. This will include client relationship management, project development, and associated research, analysis, and writing to support project preparation and processing.

He / She will provide assistance with the following but not limited to:

1. market scoping and screening of possible institutions suitable for ADB investment in sustainability finance sectors and financial inclusion including lending to micro, small and  medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), Women-led SMES (WSMES) and lending for green eligible climate finance sectors, including interalia energy efficiency, green buildings, renewable energy, sustainable transport, and climate smart agriculture;
2. provide research and analytics to support a holistic review of credit risk, corporate governance, funding strategy, and other aspects of institutional strength;
3. prepare business development materials including presentations and engage in other client-oriented follow up measures;
4. perform financial analysis and modelling as required;
5. support the research and document preparation required to process financial sector transactions and related ADB documentation for internal ADB committee approval.
6. The scope of work may also include the preparation of technical assistance documentation for client capacity building. 

Detailed Tasks and/or Expected Output 

• Support ADB to enhance the value proposition of MSMEs (including WSMEs) Technical Advisory Services in Vietnam.
• Analyze the local market policies and key priorities and help the ADB team liaise with policymakers and other stakeholders to help shape an enabling environment for MSMEs (including WSMEs)
• Support PSD in Viet Nam and PSFI and in developing and delivering projects throughout the project cycle.
• Arrange meetings and any required logistics with prospective financial institution clients and/or other stakeholders,
• Acquire financial, funding, ownership and credit information on targeted financial institutions. 
• Assist in gathering relevant information to perform risk ratings on each financial institution using ADB's risk-rating model. 
• Support the analysis of the financial institution’s financials, risk profile, ratio, gap, peer comparisons, and equity valuations (as needed). 
• Facilitate the due diligence process on the financial institutions by (a) preparing material to prepare questions for project analysis meetings; (b) gathering relevant information to assess corporate governance, perform integrity screening and reviewing antimoney laundering policies, and assess management capabilities; and (c) asking questions that arise from the financial analyses. 
• Support the drafting of concept and Investment Committee papers, blended finance committee proposals as well as ADB Board documentation.
• Perform other tasks as may be required.

The contract is subject to a performance evaluation review, conducted at the midpoint or annually, whichever comes first. The review shall be based on the achievement of assignment-specific outputs on time and on budget. Any changes in stated outputs need to be approved by ADB.

ADB reserves the right to terminate the contract i) if outputs are not achieved on time and at quality level acceptable to ADB; ii) services are no longer required or iii) for any other reasons in the interest of the project. Pre-termination of the contract is subject to 4 weeks’ notice. 

This opening is a local staff position. It is open only to nationals and residents of Viet Nam.

Minimum Qualification Requirements 

• Bachelor's degree, or equivalent, in business administration, finance, economics, or a related field; Master’s degree a plus.
• At least 12+ years of work experience in a related field, preferably with companies that have international operations and/or familiarity with financial institution analysis.   
• Strong knowledge of financial institutions, risk assessments, and country risk analysis; 
• Vietnamese native or persons with native oral and written communication skills in Vietnamese.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills in English;
• Experience developing climate finance loan products and in climate mitigation or climate adaptation topics would be considered an asset. 

Term of Contract 

1 year, renewable, subject to successful performance  

Deliverables:

• Business Development presentations.
• Research Inputs to Concept, Blended Finance, Investment Committee and Board reports.
• Financial analysis to support the preparation of Financial models.
• Technical assistance concept reports.
• Inputs for financial investment negotiation Term Sheets.
• Inputs on market data for Risk ratings and Pricing Proposals.

Places of Assignment:

The consultant will be based at our Viet Nam Resident Mission (VRM) in Ha Noi and may be required to travel to location outside the Resident Mission at the discretion of Management.

Schedule Type:

Continuous

Estimated Working Number of Days:

226 days

To apply, please visit:
https://selfservice.adb.org/OA_HTML/adb/xxcrs/jsp/ADBCsrnFwd.jsp?sel=201665

Deadline for applications is on 15-Sep-2024.