Hoi Ki
Michael Chan.

MSc · FINANCE · RISK · ANALYTICS

I turn complex, high-stakes problems into fast, well-structured decisions — balancing risk against real commercial upside.

Currently a Credit Analyst III at GoCardless, making independent, high-value risk decisions on complex accounts. Analytical by training, commercial by instinct — and always up for a new challenge.

£0K
Sanctioning authority, earned within three months
0K
Merchants safeguarded in a live portfolio
0
Languages spoken fluently — English, Cantonese, Mandarin
About

Good decisions are fast, structured, and defensible. That's the thread through everything I do.

I'm an analyst and decision-maker who has built a career in credit and risk — making high-value calls on complex, high-stakes cases. At GoCardless I earned £500,000 in sanctioning authority within three months, and I now make independent decisions on some of the platform's most complex accounts, defining the conditions that make them work.

Before that, at Selina Finance, I was promoted to a £100,000 lending mandate faster than any of my peers and delivered credit decisions in under an hour against a 24-hour SLA. I lean on structured decision frameworks and ratio analysis — liquidity, gearing, cash-flow stability — and I'm as comfortable explaining the rationale to sales and commercial teams as I am scrutinising a set of accounts.

I hold a Merit MSc in Management from Lancaster, speak English, Cantonese and Mandarin fluently, and manage my own equities and crypto portfolio on the side. The core of what I do — structured thinking, sound judgement under pressure, and clear communication — travels well beyond any one industry, and I'm always open to putting it to work on a new kind of challenge. Outside work, you'll usually find me under a barbell or in the pool.

Underwriting & credit risk

Structured, ratio-driven decisions on complex, high-risk merchants.

Portfolio monitoring

Tracking financials, payment metrics and early-warning signals to catch deterioration early.

Stakeholder communication

Translating credit rationale for sales, commercial and risk teams.

Experience

A track record measured in numbers

JAN 2026 — PRESENT
£500K authority in 3 months
Credit Analyst III
GoCardless
Global bank-payment platform — Direct Debit & open banking.
  • Earned £500,000 sanctioning authority within three months, making independent onboarding decisions on complex, high-risk-vertical merchants.
  • Help safeguard a live portfolio of up to 100,000 merchants, monitoring financials, payment metrics and early-warning indicators.
  • Define the covenants and conditions on higher-risk approvals, and communicate credit rationale to commercial, sales and risk stakeholders.
AUG 2022 — DEC 2025
Fastest promotion among peers
Credit Underwriter
Selina Finance
Fintech lender — facilities up to £1m secured on residential property.
  • Promoted to a £100,000 lending mandate within a year — the fastest among my peers.
  • Delivered credit decisions in under an hour against a 24-hour SLA, recognised for quality and speed.
  • Analysed SME and corporate financials, tax returns and management accounts to determine creditworthiness.
  • Conducted enhanced due diligence (KYC/AML) and identified early-warning indicators on high-complexity cases.
JAN 2022 — AUG 2022
100% over KPI
Surveyor Data Researcher
Altus Group
Commercial property data & analytics.
  • Exceeded KPI by 100%, processing 400+ tenure records a week.
  • Produced analytical reports on client patterns and revenue opportunities — the data-validation foundation I later applied to underwriting.
Education

Grounded in finance and analysis

2020 — 2021
MSc (Hons) Management — Merit
Lancaster University Management School
Financial Management (Distinction), Corporate Governance, Accounting, Managerial Economics. Dissertation on communication effectiveness in hybrid work environments.
2017 — 2020
BA (Hons) History — 2:1
Lancaster University
Dissertation on Hong Kong's economic development and its integration into global trade.
Toolkit

Skills & languages

Technical
Data analysis Advanced Excel SQL Salesforce Ratio analysis Credit underwriting KYC / AML Zendesk
Languages
EnglishFluent
CantoneseFluent
MandarinFluent
SpanishBasic
JapaneseBasic
Beyond the desk

Discipline, on and off the clock

96.4mi

Charity endurance swim

Swum in 23 days to fund a village in Tanzania — a self-set challenge pairing sustained discipline with real social impact.

140kg

Powerlifting

A bench press built over two years of consistent training. Progress compounds when you respect the process.

5yrs

Rugby

Half a decade in a team — comfortable under pressure and reliable when it counts.

24/7

Investing

A self-managed equities and crypto portfolio, blending long-term value investing with active, risk-managed trading.

Contact

Let's talk.

Always happy to connect — about a role, a project, an idea, or just to talk shop. The best place to reach me is on LinkedIn.


linkedin.com/in/hoi-ki-michael-chan