QA Testing Vice President – Know Your Customer (KYC)

Industry: Governance & Assurance

Company: Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Inc.

SMBC Group is a top-tier global financial group. Headquartered in Tokyo and with a 400-year history, SMBC Group offers a diverse range of financial services, including banking, leasing, securities, credit cards, and consumer finance. The Group has more than 130 offices and 80,000 employees worldwide in nearly 40 countries. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Inc. (SMFG) is the holding company of SMBC Group, which is one of the three largest banking groups in Japan. SMFG’s shares trade on the Tokyo, Nagoya, and New York (NYSE: SMFG) stock exchanges.

In the Americas, SMBC Group has a presence in the US, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, and Peru. Backed by the capital strength of SMBC Group and the value of its relationships in Asia, the Group offers a range of commercial and investment banking services to its corporate, institutional, and municipal clients. It connects a diverse client base to local markets and the organization’s extensive global network. The Group’s operating companies in the Americas include Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. (SMBC), SMBC Nikko Securities America, Inc., SMBC Capital Markets, Inc., SMBC MANUBANK, JRI America, Inc., SMBC Leasing and Finance, Inc., Banco Sumitomo Mitsui Brasileiro S.A., and Sumitomo Mitsui Finance and Leasing Co., Ltd.

The anticipated salary range for this role is between $144,000.00 and $180,000.00. 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.

Role Description

Within the Financial Crimes Compliance (FCC) Unit, Quality Assurance (QA) Testing Team is responsible for assessing compliance with AML/BSA and Sanctions laws and regulations. The QA Testing VP is responsible for conducting the day-to-day testing efforts related to KYC, Sanctions, FIU Investigations and other FCC units, assessing the operating effectiveness of SMBC’s Financial Crime Compliance controls, and adherence to the SMBC’s Financial Crime Compliance policies, procedures, processes, as well as applicable laws and regulations.

The QA Testing VP – KYC is responsible for conducting the day-to-day execution of unit’s activities related to KYC in line with established controls and documented processes. The position draws upon experience and sound judgement to help make decisions regarding testing scopes and parameters, including the identification of exceptions within the processing of the test unit’s related controls and procedures. Additionally, the VP assists the QA Testing Lead to identify potential gaps and to develop remediation plans to address potential concerns. The role of the QA Testing VP – KYC may include interaction with stakeholders from various internal bank departments such as KYC, Sanctions, FIU Investigations, Analytics, Program Management, Risk and Control and Internal Audit, in addition to interaction with external regulators when necessary

Role Objectives

• Perform full-scope reviews, targeted reviews, and / or special projects and related tasks as directed by the QA Testing Lead and/or Head of QA Testing.
• Assess compliance with Financial Crime Compliance related regulations and established policies and procedures.
• Evaluate, identify, and document related controls and procedures to determine whether or not the controls and processes are operating effectively.
• Assess issues from different viewpoints and make informed judgments based on facts.
• Conduct secondary review of QA Testing to document initial findings.
• Document detailed substantive work papers, prepare findings and communicate to process owners and management.
• Identify potential concerns & control gaps, determine the root cause of identified issues, and help coordinate corrective action plans with applicable stakeholders.
• Work collaboratively with QA Testing and Testing Units to reach common understanding of issues.
• Escalates matters to the Head of QA Testing and/or QA Testing Leads.
• Perform validation of remediation of issues identified during tests.
• Contribute to the development and management of QA Testing Governance documents (e.g., procedure, desktop guides, test scripts, etc.) and provide insight of lessons with colleagues across all teams.

Qualifications and Skills

• 7 to 10 years of specialized experience in Financial Services.
• Minimum 5-7 years of BSA/AML/Sanctions compliance experience (e.g., compliance, internal audit, AML Risk and Control, AML Governance and Oversight, bank regulator).
• Strong working knowledge of BSA/AML and sanctions laws and regulations, and compliance requirements and standards that impact a global financial services firm such as KYC/client risk rating, transaction monitoring, suspicious activity reporting, client screening/sanctions requirements, and risk assessments.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to present findings clearly and concisely.
• Strong analytical skills to identify, document, present, and report issues.
• Expert knowledge and understanding of Japanese culture and foreign banks in general are preferred.
• Expert knowledge of banking products and services.
• Strong ability to build effective relationships and work collaboratively to effectuate change.
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team, with a high level of organization and attention to detail.
• Maintains high level of confidentiality, unquestionable character, integrity and professionalism.
• Education: Preferred: BA / BS (or equivalent experience); BA / BS in a relevant discipline (e.g., Accounting, Finance, Banking, Statistics, Mathematics, or other related field), or equivalent experience.
• Licenses / Certifications / Registrations: CAMS (Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist) certified or other equivalent industry certification is strongly preferred (including but not limited to CFE-Certified Fraud Examiner, CPA-Certified Public Accountant, and Certified Regulatory Compliance Manager-CRCM).
• Language Skills: Business fluency in the following languages: English
• Software Systems / Programming Languages Experience with Microsoft Office Suite, SharePoint, Visio

SMBC’s employees participate in a Hybrid workforce model that provides employees with an opportunity to work from home, as well as, from an SMBC office. SMBC requires that employees live within a reasonable commuting distance of their office location. Prospective candidates will learn more about their specific hybrid work schedule during their interview process. Hybrid work may not be permitted for certain roles, including, for example, certain FINRA-registered roles for which in-office attendance for the entire workweek is required.

We are an equal employment opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status or any other characteristic protected by law. SMBC provides reasonable accommodations for employees and applicants with disabilities consistent with applicable law. If you need a reasonable accommodation during the application process, please let us know at accommodations@smbcgroup.com.