Wealth Management KYC Officer (12 months contract)

Newly created contract roles within the Wealth Management arm of an Universal Bank. The purpose of the KYC account opening / reviewing team position is to ensure that all client account openings comply with regulatory requirements and internal policies. This role exists to minimize financial and reputational risks by conducting detailed reviews and validation of customer information during the onboarding and reviewing process.

Responsibilities:

1. Ensuring accuracy and adherence to compliance standards, this position play a critical role in supporting the team’s goal of maintaining a robust and reliable compliance framework, safeguarding the organization’s integrity, and fostering trust with stakeholders.
2. Work as a team within the KYC Compliance unit to:
3. Ensure timely review of new accounts
4. Ensure minimal past due recertification accounts at any point in time.
5. Provide BAU advisory to Business on KYC and Financial Security matters.
6. Collaborate with the larger compliance community, e.g. APAC Financial Security AML Advisory team.
7. To perform gap analysis of local regulatory consultation papers, new EU regulations and/or synchronization/ alignment of local/regional policies vis-à-vis Group/WMHO.
8. To assist in the monitoring of highly sensitive clients and handle Financial Security incidents.
9. Perform Financial Security related local controls
10. To engage with and advise on issues and matters relating to AML/CFT from both the KYC and investment suitability perspectives such as VC assessment and client’s investment risk profiling.
11. To assist Head of Compliance/Head of KYC/FS to handle internal and external audits.
12. Participate in APAC WM KYC initiatives
13. Reviewing client profiles during account opening and recertification phase to ensure conformity to internal and regulatory requirements on AML/CFT/CDD standards, producing client risk assessments, due diligence analysis and assigning an appropriate risk rating.
14. Provide advisory support to the business with regard to resolving newly identified adverse media, link to sanction countries related issues, identifying potential Politically Exposed Persons etc.
15. Assisting with the preparation, presentation of existing client relationship to a local risk committee with the objective of obtaining business & compliance management approval to start/maintain the relationship with the client.
16. Review client transactions for the period under review and flag out any suspicious transactions with regard to unknown 3rd parties; commercial nature etc.
17. Perform risk assessment and make decisions with regards to unblocking of accounts
18. Conducting investigations and filing suspicious transaction reports (STRs) as appropriate.
19. Provide feedback to changes to internal KYC procedures.
20. Keeping abreast of changes in the domestic regulatory requirements (MAS) and be aware of the different obligations from other jurisdictions such as HKMA and HO. If required, to conduct gap analysis.
21. Provide training on internal new or revised policies and procedures and external new regulations to relevant stakeholders such as Front Office and/or Client Management teams.
22. Ensure the timeliness and accuracy of status reporting on new a/c onboarding and recertification tracking, including escalations.
23. Perform any other ad-hoc duties assigned by supervisor.

Requirements

1. Candidate with min of 5 years of relevant working experiences, preferably in Wealth Management or Private Banking focusing on KYC/AML/CDD reviews as well as transaction monitoring
2. Degree qualified
3. MS Office Skills
4. Interpersonal skill to work as team player
5. Able to work independently with minimal supervision
6. Able to work with different stakeholders to investigate alerts/exceptions and recommend improvements
7. Organized and meticulous.