Overview
JOB SUMMARY
Within the Financial Crime Prevention Unit, (“FCPU”), the Sanctions Compliance Team (“SCT”) provides second-line oversight to the SMBC in the New York branch. The Sanctions Advisory Vice President (“V.P.”) supports the Director and reports into the Director of the Sanctions Advisory team. The V.P. has responsibilities for overseeing the process under their Director’s remit including drafting reports to the applicable sanctions regulators, regulatory change management, and giving advice to multiple different business units and AD entities. The V.P. may be involved in performing assignments in the absence of the Director and ensures compliance in accordance with regulatory requirements Bank Secrecy Act/Anti Money Laundering/Office of Foreign Assets Control (BSA/AML/OFAC), SMBC policies and procedures.
SCOPE
The V.P. follows established guidelines to identify and resolve problems and proactively recommends solutions to improve processes where guidelines may not have been developed. The V.P. acts as an SME for department and across other functions, and as an independent contributor or as part of a larger team. The V.P. is expected to contribute to workflow, process changes and redesign as warranted. The V.P. is required to form a strong understanding of US sanctions related rules and regulations. The V.P. may support the day-to-day work of other teams within the Sanctions Compliance team function, and function as a delegate in replacement of a V.P. This position may also provide support to the Analytics Team to effectively update, tune and optimize sanctions filtering system. The V.P. must possess solid business acumen, natural curiosity, and the ability to effectively shift between communications styles based on the audience.
The anticipated salary range for this role is between $142,000 and $195,000. The specific salary offered to an applicant will be based on their individual qualifications, experiences, and an analysis of the current compensation paid in their geography and the market for similar roles at the time of hire. The role may also be eligible for an annual discretionary incentive award. In addition to cash compensation, SMBC offers a competitive portfolio of benefits to its employees.
Responsibilities
PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES
The job responsibilities are described herein:
- Provides subject matter expertise and timely guidance about sanctions matters to stakeholders both within the branch and to other affiliates and AD entities as necessary.
- Acts as a lead for the process in the Advisory Sanctions Department reporting into the Director. Ongoingly assists the Director with day-to-day workflow management, maintains and enhances Advisory department processes and tasks.
- Ensures compliance with all regulatory practices outlined by Compliance Department of Americas Division (CPAD), BSA/AML/OFAC and with Bank policies and procedures. Provides management and guidance to assigned team members in scope for regulatory change management process.
- Performs due diligence on alerted transactions escalated by the Investigations teams (Level 1 and Level 2 teams) on ad hoc basis. Records decision-making on different escalations which can includes but not limited to requests from different SMBC business units, and transactional or customers and affiliated parties related alerts.
- Ensures completion of requests from BSA/AML/OFAC Compliance Officer in relation to conditional approvals or other requirements.
- Prepares overview of significant regulatory changes.
- Prepares reports and other materials as required in response to inquiries from internal and external auditors, bank departments, and regulators. Provides timely updates of internal bank policy changes, new regulatory compliance requirements, and makes recommendations for the Sanctions Compliance team.
- Prepares OFAC reject/block reports and participates in submission of the Annual Report of Blocked Property.
- Performs additional, targeted research on certain parties to determine a sanctions nexus, make recommendations or take steps to propose watchlist entries to benefit screening controls.
- Ensures business continuity under all conditions, sometimes adverse, with strict adherence to established guidelines and deadlines.
- Maintains ongoing contact with branches and compliance counterparts throughout the enterprise.
Qualifications
CRITICAL JOB KNOWLEDGE AND CORE COMPETENCIES/SKILLS
- Thorough understanding of legal aspects and recordkeeping requirements of banking regulations (especially OFAC, AML, BSA, USA PATRIOT Act) relating to money transfer.
- Strong knowledge of market practices related to foreign and domestic money transfers; knowledge of OFAC.
- Strong level knowledge of banking policies, statutory and compliance regulations.
- Strong knowledge of accounting principles and practices.
- Expertise and experience in US sanctions and export controls laws and regulations.
- Experience in using industry standard sanctions screening tools.
- Experience in reviews, investigation and resolution of sanctioned related issues.
- Strong sense of urgency, accuracy and accountability; responsive to time sensitive needs.
- Strong management skills; decision making, influencing and delegation skills, and ability to work independently.
- Strong analytical, presentation and communication skills, and ability to work collaboratively with all levels of company personnel.
- Knowledge of AML, KYC and FinCEN a definite plus.
REQUIREMENTS
- Work Experience: 7 to 10 years of specialized experience in Financial Services
- Compliance, Payment System or Money Transfer preferred
- Education: Required: BA / BS (or equivalent experience)
PREFERRED:
- Licenses / Certifications / Registrations: CAMS/CGSS preferred
- Language Skills: Business fluency in English
- Software Systems / Programming Languages SWIFT preferred.
WORK ENVIRONMENT
SMBC’s “5 Values” guide the overall culture of the work environment – Customer First; Proactive/Innovative; Speed; Quality; and Team SMFG. This job is performed in a secured bench seating office environment, using standard office equipment (i.e., desktops, phone, etc.) The role may regularly require long hours and occasional weekend work, as job duties and team priorities demand.
PHYSICAL DEMANDS
The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an
employee to successfully perform this job: Standard SMBC office environment.
TRAVEL
Percentage of travel required: 0 – 10%
OTHER DUTIES
This position is designated as a Continuity Assurance Position (CAP).
This job description is not designed to cover or contain an all-inclusive list of duties and responsibilities that are required of the position. Duties and responsibilities may change as SMBC deems necessary, including other duties and responsibilities assigned at any time with or without notice. At any given juncture, certain of the duties and responsibilities listed in the job description may constitute essential functions of the job.
SMBC provides equal employment opportunity to all individuals regardless of their race, color, creed, religion, gender, age, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law. Further, SMBC takes affirmative action to ensure that applicants are employed and employees are treated during employment without regard to any of these characteristics. SMBC maintains affirmative action plans for minorities, women, persons with disabilities, and veterans.