Underwriting Intern

Business Unit/Role Specific Info 

Credit and Fraud Risk (CFR) is a global function, responsible for making the right credit and fraud risk decisions that uphold operational excellence, drive growth, and accelerate innovation across American Express. CFR combines technology and infrastructure with new computing techniques to make better risk decisions and provide real-time customer communications and fraud servicing. 

Commercial Rating and Underwriting (CRU) sits within the Credit and Fraud Risk (CFR) division within American Express. The Commercial Rating and Underwriting (CRU) team plays a critical role in assessing and managing the risk of institutional exposures across all business areas of American Express, and in all regions globally. Credit exposures are primarily generated through corporate and small business card programs, via merchant service relationships where non-delivery risk exists, and among the securities portfolio held for firm-wide liquidity. CRU is led from Salt Lake City with regional teams in New York, London, Singapore, and Sydney.

In addition to determining the internal credit rating which drives the probability of default of each exposure, CRU also calculates the loss given default of these obligors while underwriting card programs. As a bank holding company, American Express must align with the highest global banking standards set by the bank’s primary regulator, the Federal Reserve. 

Minimum Requirements 

• Currently enrolled in a full-time undergraduate degree program (Bachelors)

• Expected graduation date between December 2027 and June 2028

Preferred Requirements 

• Student working on a bachelor’s degree or substantial coursework in finance, accounting, economics, or statistics a plus

• Understanding of fundamental financial analysis including the ability to review corporate financial documents to determine the ability of the obligor to honor its credit requirements

• Comfortable with GAAP/IFRS accounting standards, corporate valuation, and forecasting

• Comfortable with public agency ratings and supporting analysis

• Understanding of current macroeconomic trends and how to provide recommendations to improve the probability of default (PD) estimation based on the business cycle

• Experience preparing company-specific and industry-wide credit memorandums

• Familiarity with global markets (foreign language ability a plus)

• Confident and persuasive written and verbal communicator

How will you make an impact in this role?  

• Rate and underwrite credit exposures within the assigned region, industry, and business line.

• Conduct fundamental analysis through a thorough review of:

  • Business operations

  • Financial performance

  • Industry and country risk

• Utilize outputs from internal and external rating models to support credit decisions.

• Assess the need for credit extension by evaluating:

  • Relationship profitability

  • Program structures

Salary Range: $24.05 - $63 hourly + sign-on bonus