AML/Compliance/KYC professionals come in!

Originally Posted by Unregistered

I know how you feel. I have a similar background, my 1st job out of graduation was at a investment research firm specializing in alternative assets, as a research analyst. The starting pay was 2850. I am now with a European bank's Compliance Control/Advisory team. In total, I have moved 3 times with a little less than 3 years working experience and am drawing >1.75x my 1st paycheck.

Banks do not reward loyalty within the same function, will not recommend people in our shoes to stay committed in a firm for an extended period of time. After all, we are not the 'elite' IBs or part of sales/trading. We have to create and generate uplifts in our incomes with what we have.

im almost the same as u... started with a contract aml job when i just grad, then shortly moved on to a perm comp ops role then finally moved on to the advisory/control function. Coming nov will be my 3rd yr anniversary of working.. salary wise suprisingly almost the same as yours. I guess ppl in our years of exp in this field r paid this amt?

but man, a full fledged compliance role isnt easy. is no longer just dealing with TM or KYC but moving on to broader topics. OTC derivatives, syndication loans, basic onboarding n kyc stuff r done by the middle office.

its really stressful...many times in the meeting room i almost flipped the table at the other person

Originally Posted by jesperw

Hi,

As a fresh grad, is it a good idea to source for these contract jobs through public job portals such as Indeed.com, jobstreet and so on? Or is it much wiser to browse the individual firms career websites to find said contract jobs?

I'm not the person you are quoting, but here's my advice, as someone who has jumped around a fair bit.

As a fresh grad, all the job portals are your best friend. jobsdb, jobstreet in particular. efinancialcareers and linkedin are more suitable for experienced hires. Nowadays, a huge amount of jobs out there are taken up by agents who then search for suitable candidates. There's nothing wrong with going through an agent, they are pretty much a necessary middleman in the industry now.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

im almost the same as u... started with a contract aml job when i just grad, then shortly moved on to a perm comp ops role then finally moved on to the advisory/control function. Coming nov will be my 3rd yr anniversary of working.. salary wise suprisingly almost the same as yours. I guess ppl in our years of exp in this field r paid this amt?

but man, a full fledged compliance role isnt easy. is no longer just dealing with TM or KYC but moving on to broader topics. OTC derivatives, syndication loans, basic onboarding n kyc stuff r done by the middle office.

its really stressful...many times in the meeting room i almost flipped the table at the other person

I know what you mean, Compliance is a whole different ball game. The stress, especially when the ops team and Business starts quoting what I said in the past... zzz

Originally Posted by Unregistered

im almost the same as u... started with a contract aml job when i just grad, then shortly moved on to a perm comp ops role then finally moved on to the advisory/control function. Coming nov will be my 3rd yr anniversary of working.. salary wise suprisingly almost the same as yours. I guess ppl in our years of exp in this field r paid this amt?

but man, a full fledged compliance role isnt easy. is no longer just dealing with TM or KYC but moving on to broader topics. OTC derivatives, syndication loans, basic onboarding n kyc stuff r done by the middle office.

its really stressful...many times in the meeting room i almost flipped the table at the other person

Looks like contract jobs are the way to go to gain entry into aml kyc since they are paid higher than perm roles like mine in thomson reuters. only the brand is the selling point. does anyone know if its easy to jump departments in banks? try my hands at various roles.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

I know what you mean, Compliance is a whole different ball game. The stress, especially when the ops team and Business starts quoting what I said in the past... zzz

what kind of broader topics? I am in my first 3 months at a jap bank and I am looking to gain some advice. Any books or website should I read regularly? I was told by my manager that it is good to be proactive in KYC AML role.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

I'm not the person you are quoting, but here's my advice, as someone who has jumped around a fair bit.

As a fresh grad, all the job portals are your best friend. jobsdb, jobstreet in particular. efinancialcareers and linkedin are more suitable for experienced hires. Nowadays, a huge amount of jobs out there are taken up by agents who then search for suitable candidates. There's nothing wrong with going through an agent, they are pretty much a necessary middleman in the industry now.

I agree though many recruiters are quite scheming (from my own experience). most of my interviews were through contacts such as seniors in university or ex colleagues. don't be afraid to approach your seniors or any of your contacts.

Originally Posted by shenry

Looks like contract jobs are the way to go to gain entry into aml kyc since they are paid higher than perm roles like mine in thomson reuters. only the brand is the selling point. does anyone know if its easy to jump departments in banks? try my hands at various roles.

I have been a contractor and interacted with contractors before when I became a perm elsewhere, honestly I've never met a contractor that was paid more than a perm, taking experience and role into consideration as a apple to apple basis.

Typically, internal mobility has criteria like staying in the same role for 24 months with certain performance criteria to be attained, before you can apply for another role internally.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

what kind of broader topics? I am in my first 3 months at a jap bank and I am looking to gain some advice. Any books or website should I read regularly? I was told by my manager that it is good to be proactive in KYC AML role.

I don't have any books to recommend, but I generally scour the regulatory websites of the jurisdictions that I cover, looking into the papers they publish as well as for any regulatory news and issues. Otherwise, for technical skills, you can consider looking into taking up ICA modules or ACAMS.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

what kind of broader topics? I am in my first 3 months at a jap bank and I am looking to gain some advice. Any books or website should I read regularly? I was told by my manager that it is good to be proactive in KYC AML role.

Read the news. Best source of info. Understand what is coming. Sg to sign /implement aeoi hence applying crs. Learn how will this affect banking.

Broader topics i mean areas outside the realm of aml kyc and this involves alot of reading. Know wat laws r cross border n has effect in sg... If u r tech savvy, learn how the systems in your current workplace works. Knw the matching algorithms, source feeds, outputs etc. This would prove helpful in helpin u to manage change projects and to detect glitches or flaws.

Many many other things. But u need to keep up with the news.

How much should I expect if I have 1 year experience in KYC ops?
Just wanna gauge whether I am underpaid or overpaid.