AML/Compliance/KYC professionals come in!

Originally Posted by Unregistered

freshies who are getting into FCC as their first job... good luck.

I have seen many freshies getting all hyped up in their first 6mths - year... Alas, reality is not so kind, they finally realized the stagnation of their job scopes and not going to get huge pay increments / superstar treatment just for 1-2years of work experience...

No banks will be giving you a hefty pay angbao for just 2-3 years of work exp in FCC, even if you're really that good, you will still be bounded by the pay ceiling.

mouths to feed la

Seriously all those freshie who want to get in FCC are just because they difficult to find jobs and FCC is hot area now and just wanna join in the fun now.

Still want perm and dont want contract,if u cant find a job, serve u all right

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Seriously all those freshie who want to get in FCC are just because they difficult to find jobs and FCC is hot area now and just wanna join in the fun now.

Still want perm and dont want contract,if u cant find a job, serve u all right

Wow, what's with the tone man. Like you said, they are freshie. You lao jiao is it? Then guide la. That's what this forum is for. If you can't give proper guide or advice. Don't post redundant replies.

Anyway to the rest, getting into banking sector whichever position you take doesn't really matter much the first year or so. As you slowly climb the ladder, you'll slowly specialise. Whether its compliance, risk management or analyst roles, as long as you can convert your skills you can always get into another role.

Cheers.

Hi All,

It has been months since I visited this forum and I would have loved to give my input earlier if I had known so many of you guys here are looking for info regarding Deutsche Bank and in particular,

MThree Consulting.

I know a lot about this project and DB's plans. So you guys may wanna listen up

Most large banks have already went on the Level 1, Level 2 and maybe even a Level 3 AML Transaction Monitoring framework, with most of these L1 L2 functions outsourced to cheaper locations like Malaysia, China or India. The in-country L3 AML Transaction Monitoring functions are usually where you want to be at (i.e. most stabilitity, of course notwithstanding Advisory which is arguably the most stable)

DB appears to be only just adopting this model recently. The AML TM function has just moved to Maple Business City which is a cheaper and more spacious location. This is to house the new team of Contractors, around 35 of them.

What you will be doing as a contract staff, is essentially the same as other smart consultancy firms such as CAPCO that jumped on the opportunity to hire fresh grads as cheap contract staffs to provide manpower solutions (usually AML compliance related) for various banks.

When I say manpower solutions, the following are facts that people like me who are actually in the actual industry will know:

1) You are a contract staff hired with the consutancy firm and will be treated like one, with no guarantee of a perm with any Bank (i.e you cant put DB in your Linkedin or Resume as your employer is Mthree Consulting.)

2) Many banks have sugar coated this cheap labour as "graduate program". Think of Credit Suisse, BNP Paribas etc. This type of contract job or compliance graduate program, is not even remotely close to the Management Associate Program or Graduate Program in various other banks (i.e. you will not be treated as a superstar with star rotations and star promotion paths)

3) Out of 35 people, the conversion rate is likely 5 to 8 who will get converted. This is the reality. AML Compliance has been found out to be the largest COST FUNCTION in Compliance. Banks all around are finding ways to outsource to cheaper locations, automate, streamline, reduce headcount (i.e. when I heard someone saying earlier that DB will promote and convert all 35 of you contract staffss into perm, I immediately sense that it would be needful to manage your expectations in case you get hurt and disappointed in 2 years time).

4) There is no guarantee at all that you will be converted to a DB perm staff. What is more guaranteed is that, after 2 years of working as a consultant under Mthree Consulting, you may be sent on another project for another bank (still under Mthree Consulting)

5) Your work is mainly remediation and clearing backlog, or temporary manpower to cope with surge in transaction monitoring alert volumes. Once stabilized, the Bank or company is likely not to extend your contract. There can only be so many perm staff headcounts in the actual Bank.

So, there you go folks, with that all said and done, if you cant find a job and have this offer in front of you, by all means go ahead. But just be prepared of the realities and manage your expectations accordigly.

Especially if you are a fresh grad who has been overly hopeful of the AML sector being a super hot career, after reading 115 pages of AML discussions on this forum

Cheers all, thank me later.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Hi All,

It has been months since I visited this forum and I would have loved to give my input earlier if I had known so many of you guys here are looking for info regarding Deutsche Bank and in particular,

MThree Consulting.

I know a lot about this project and DB's plans. So you guys may wanna listen up

Most large banks have already went on the Level 1, Level 2 and maybe even a Level 3 AML Transaction Monitoring framework, with most of these L1 L2 functions outsourced to cheaper locations like Malaysia, China or India. The in-country L3 AML Transaction Monitoring functions are usually where you want to be at (i.e. most stabilitity, of course notwithstanding Advisory which is arguably the most stable)

DB appears to be only just adopting this model recently. The AML TM function has just moved to Maple Business City which is a cheaper and more spacious location. This is to house the new team of Contractors, around 35 of them.

What you will be doing as a contract staff, is essentially the same as other smart consultancy firms such as CAPCO that jumped on the opportunity to hire fresh grads as cheap contract staffs to provide manpower solutions (usually AML compliance related) for various banks.

When I say manpower solutions, the following are facts that people like me who are actually in the actual industry will know:

1) You are a contract staff hired with the consutancy firm and will be treated like one, with no guarantee of a perm with any Bank (i.e you cant put DB in your Linkedin or Resume as your employer is Mthree Consulting.)

2) Many banks have sugar coated this cheap labour as "graduate program". Think of Credit Suisse, BNP Paribas etc. This type of contract job or compliance graduate program, is not even remotely close to the Management Associate Program or Graduate Program in various other banks (i.e. you will not be treated as a superstar with star rotations and star promotion paths)

3) Out of 35 people, the conversion rate is likely 5 to 8 who will get converted. This is the reality. AML Compliance has been found out to be the largest COST FUNCTION in Compliance. Banks all around are finding ways to outsource to cheaper locations, automate, streamline, reduce headcount (i.e. when I heard someone saying earlier that DB will promote and convert all 35 of you contract staffss into perm, I immediately sense that it would be needful to manage your expectations in case you get hurt and disappointed in 2 years time).

4) There is no guarantee at all that you will be converted to a DB perm staff. What is more guaranteed is that, after 2 years of working as a consultant under Mthree Consulting, you may be sent on another project for another bank (still under Mthree Consulting)

5) Your work is mainly remediation and clearing backlog, or temporary manpower to cope with surge in transaction monitoring alert volumes. Once stabilized, the Bank or company is likely not to extend your contract. There can only be so many perm staff headcounts in the actual Bank.

So, there you go folks, with that all said and done, if you cant find a job and have this offer in front of you, by all means go ahead. But just be prepared of the realities and manage your expectations accordigly.

Especially if you are a fresh grad who has been overly hopeful of the AML sector being a super hot career, after reading 115 pages of AML discussions on this forum

Cheers all, thank me later.

Interesting read. I almost had joined DB's FCC 5 years ago.

The bubble in AML has been forming since 6-8 years ago..(?) and the bubble has grown tremendously especially in the last few years with banks hiring en-masse to expand the AML functions...

It shouldn't come as a surprise that the bubble would eventually reach a state that it starts eating into sizable portions of the revenue.. then again - banks can't be lax in this area of control. So the solution - contractors / temp workers. And in recent years... many banks have started to automate various functions within AML.

I wouldn't say the AML is a sunset field now.. but compared to the incumbents (>4years), probably things won't be as colorful for the newcomers as one may think it is...

Thanks for these advice but i am still going to hold on and wait for the offer. I dont think situation is as pessimistic as you made it out to be but i have a mixture of local and pte uni senior/friends doing very well in KYC/AML domain. Most of them are drawing high 4 figures salary and cashing in at close to 100k p.a so i presume that is where the money is in compliance. Nobody will care if i work for db or mthree consulting as long as i can smoke my way through the next interview if db doesnt convert me. I think there is still an acute shortage of kyc/aml professionals and these functions cant be offshore unlike certain compliance function so that offers me career longevity, stability and progression and i believe i would eventually go into an advisory role with more experience.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Thanks for these advice but i am still going to hold on and wait for the offer. I dont think situation is as pessimistic as you made it out to be but i have a mixture of local and pte uni senior/friends doing very well in KYC/AML domain. Most of them are drawing high 4 figures salary and cashing in at close to 100k p.a so i presume that is where the money is in compliance. Nobody will care if i work for db or mthree consulting as long as i can smoke my way through the next interview if db doesnt convert me. I think there is still an acute shortage of kyc/aml professionals and these functions cant be offshore unlike certain compliance function so that offers me career longevity, stability and progression and i believe i would eventually go into an advisory role with more experience.

you are right - to a certain extent. Once you get a foot in, its all about how you manage and progress from there.

anyway, i know a couple of banks offering 4s and high 4s to freshies in the KYC/AML domain (and i know their bonus figures as well) but i am pretty darn sure there aren't anyone around who will be paying close to 100K p.a all in to a freshies or even with just 2-3 years cumulative working exp in KYC/AML... unless your friends have already been working quite some time ?

Anyway, unless you've seen the actual pay slips or iras NOA, just take it w a pinch of salt when it comes to discussing pay matters w your friends.

I welcome any criticisms from the posters here... as someone who has been working in this area for some time, I have my own reliable intel sources.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Thanks for these advice but i am still going to hold on and wait for the offer. I dont think situation is as pessimistic as you made it out to be but i have a mixture of local and pte uni senior/friends doing very well in KYC/AML domain. Most of them are drawing high 4 figures salary and cashing in at close to 100k p.a so i presume that is where the money is in compliance. Nobody will care if i work for db or mthree consulting as long as i can smoke my way through the next interview if db doesnt convert me. I think there is still an acute shortage of kyc/aml professionals and these functions cant be offshore unlike certain compliance function so that offers me career longevity, stability and progression and i believe i would eventually go into an advisory role with more experience.

You need to try out if KYC is suitable for you. It is volume based and workload is relatively high in most companies. Are you able to take the pressure? Possible to move to other compliance but it depends alot on opportunities available and luck.

I have 4 years KYC experience. Went to DB for interview last year. DB really cant pay now. The interviewer looked worried when I quoted my expected salary.

Please dont talk abt longevity and stablility. The job market is always changing. Go to govt sector if you want stability.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

You need to try out if KYC is suitable for you. It is volume based and workload is relatively high in most companies. Are you able to take the pressure? Possible to move to other compliance but it depends alot on opportunities available and luck.

I have 4 years KYC experience. Went to DB for interview last year. DB really cant pay now. The interviewer looked worried when I quoted my expected salary.

Please dont talk abt longevity and stablility. The job market is always changing. Go to govt sector if you want stability.

was the interviewer name Hisham or something? Big guy with specs.. i think he is a singaporean malay? I met him in one of the events few years ago.. i think he was the head of one function in AFC.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

was the interviewer name Hisham or something? Big guy with specs.. i think he is a singaporean malay? I met him in one of the events few years ago.. i think he was the head of one function in AFC.

I am not so senior for him to interview. It is not him. And with regards to your friends getting close to 100k p.a. please take it as a pinch of salt. Unless you saw their pay slips. 100k is possible with 5-6 years of experience and provided the company has stable bonus.