Acquisition Banker (AB)

About the role

Empowering Africa's tomorrow, together...one story at a time. With over 100 years of rich history and strongly positioned as a local bank with regional and international expertise, a career with our family offers the opportunity to be part of this exciting growth journey, to reset our future and shape our destiny as a proudly African group. Job Summary The Acquisition Banker is a frontline origination and execution specialist responsible for securing primary banking relationships by driving end-to-end client acquisition, orchestrating onboarding and activation, and delivering disciplined, accretive balance sheet solutions that convert new clients into fully embedded, revenue-generating relationships. Job Description 1 . Bu siness Area & Reporting Line Business Banking Commercial Client Coverage South Africa - New Client Acquisitions (NCA) Reports to: Head: New Client Acquisitions, Business Banking Commercial Client Coverage, South Africa 2. Role Purpose The Acquisition Banker (AB) is a dedicated origination specialist within Business Banking Commercial responsible for acquiring New-to-Bank (NTB) clients and securing primary banking relationships . The AB assumes full end-to-end accountability for the client acquisition lifecycle, i.e., from target identification and origination, through credit structuring and approval, to onboarding, implementation, and activation thereby ensuring Absa becomes the client's main transactional operating, clearing, and cash management bank . AB's primary objective is transactional primacy and wallet capture , supported by the origination and execution of lending opportunities across the Bank's product houses , ensuring disciplined and accretive balance sheet deployment that delivers optimal risk-adjusted returns . 3. Core Responsibilities 3.1 Primacy-Led NTB Acquisition Identify, research, and maintain a pipeline of Commercial profiled NTB target clients (≥R50m annual T/o or Sales) Maintain an active and disciplined calling and engagement programme to originate new opportunities Lead owner and senior financial decision-maker engagements to position Absa as the primary bank Secure primary operating accounts and drive full transactional switching (payments, collections, clearing) Structure onboarding solutions to maximise wallet share across cash management, liquidity, and trade services Displace incumbent banks through differentiated value propositions, pricing, and service delivery 3.2 Balance Sheet Origination, Lending & Cross-Sell Originate and structure lending opportunities across product houses, delivering integrated solutions across term lending, commercial property finance, working capital, trade finance, asset-based finance, and treasury, etc. Deploy the Bank's balance sheet in a disciplined and accretive manner, ensuring optimal risk-adjusted returns while utilising borrowings strategically to anchor and deepen transactional primacy. Drive deposit mobilisation, liquidity flows, and funding optimisation, maintaining strong cross-sell discipline to link lending with transactional activity and deliver holistic client solutions aligned to client operating cycles and growth strategies. 3.3 End-to-End Deal Execution & Project Management Take full ownership of the end-to-end deal lifecycle, from origination through execution to implementation, activation, and client utilisation. Lead and coordinate Client Service Teams (CSTs) to deliver integrated, high-quality solutions, including the structuring and presentation of credit proposals through internal approval processes. Drive efficient onboarding and client migration, ensuring accelerated time-to-primacy through rapid conversion from approval to active and sustained transactional usage. 3.4 Risk Management & Governance Ensure strict adherence to Absa's risk frameworks, policies, and approved lending governance standards, taking full ownership of the end-to-end credit process in close partnership with Credit Risk to secure approvals. Maintain a proactive and transparent risk management approach through continuous client engagement, ensuring early identification and escalation of emerging risks. Actively identify, assess, and mitigate credit, transactional, and reputational risks, operating consistently within the Bank's defined risk appetite and control environment. 3.5 Compliance, Operations & Ecosystem Capture Ensure full compliance with all applicable regulatory requirements, including FICA, FAIS, AML, and SARB, while remaining current on industry, regulatory, and product developments impacting client delivery. Drive ecosystem capture by identifying and converting opportunities across client value chains, including suppliers, payroll, and related entities, to deepen relationships and revenue generation. Ensure seamless coordination and alignment across Operations, Product Houses, and Support Functions to enable efficient execution and delivery of integrated client solutions. 4. Behavioral Expectations Champion t