Originally Posted by Unregistered (Post 96855)

Hello, would like to know if KYC a good place to start, and how's the progression for people starting out in KYC?
From what I see the pay is about 2.6-2.8k for entry level, how much does this increase by in say, 2 years in the current market?
From what I understand about KYC, its a fairly operational role, some say its mundane. Therefore what types of roles can people in KYC eventually move into that can possibly command a higher salary?

Originally Posted by Unregistered (Post 96862)

Compliance and AML are still good for another 5 years or so. There will still be demand but most banks prefer to hire experienced individuals. If contracting is the way to go for you to gain more experience, then you can try that option.

At this time and age, Compliance and AML are meant for people who constantly wants to strive for a difference and be ambitious. In fact, the whole working environment has evolved and changed. MAS is currently looking outside of Singapore, to digitize surveillance work. Basic typology will no longer be effective in 5 years time as crooks are getting smarter. Data analysis will be the new trend to identify gaps within the bank. This is also the only reason why banks will continue to hire Compliance and AML expertise in Singapore rather than outsourcing work to lower cost locations. If you wants a stable job and is resistant to changes, Compliance and AML will not be suitable. With the world evolving and becoming more digitized, all industry must evolved to catch up. This is the same reason why you are not using iphone 1 anymore.

There are talks that in 10 years time, brick and mortar banks will cease to exist. Everyone will do their banking needs online and the whole banking environment will change.

Originally Posted by Unregistered (Post 96863)

I am not in KYC but I deal with people from KYC a lot. Based on my observations, yes, KYC is fairly operational. This is also the same reason most people doing KYC are less ambitious and less comfortable with a leadership role. I am not sure its the work that drives them to such behavior or such people with such characteristic tend to go for operational job. Having said that, if you are more ambitious and comfortable with leadership role, it can potentially be easier for you to progress within the KYC structure. There is always a lot of remediation projects in major banks but nobody is willing to lead. There are KYC head at SVP or Director levels and they do not earn less than $200-$250K per annum.

If you are in a big bank, the options to move to other functions are always there. It is all about relationship building. If you want to move to Business (not necessary sales) from KYC function, it is possible as well. All business has a team of business managers/COO (all banks call the differently) to support bankers. If you want to move to AML, that is also possible.

Originally Posted by Unregistered (Post 96746)

FATCA/CRS falls under compliance, specifically tax compliance. It touches a lot on CDD/KYC so not really transit-able to AML usually (excluding networking/luck). Despite being niche, there are transferable skills depending on which part of FATCA/CRS you are working for (project/implementation, BAU, advisory)...

Originally Posted by Unregistered (Post 96866)

Hi, thanks for your reply. From what I know, KYC is a subset of AML, but are there better options apart from KYC if you are just starting out in the industry? How many yrs of exp does it typically take to hit a SVP or Director level?

Would having experience in KYC qualify you for risk management related roles such as ops risk?

Originally Posted by Unregistered (Post 96865)

Im not adverse to change, but i guess what i mean is that i would like to start my career in a job that would not be irrelevant in a few years time. Taking what you said into account, where would compliance and aml professionals end up in 5 to 10 years time? Im not sure if this will be a stretch, but where would you say would be the best place or function for a fresh grad to be in with the current market conditions and future developments?

Originally Posted by Unregistered (Post 96918)

In some banks, KYC is a subset of AML. In some banks, it is a separate team under Operations. In terms of experiences, it vary from individuals. I have seen SVP/Director in their mid 30s and I have seen SVPs in their 40s and 50s.

There are many types of risk managements, so it depends on the structure of the organization as well. I have seen people with KYC experiences moved into Ops risk, and vice verse.

Originally Posted by Unregistered (Post 96950)

Thanks for the reply. From what I see now, most risk management related roles require some form/few years of experience. Typically, what kind of experience (KYC, TM, etc) will be seen as more transferable or viewed more favourably, be it for transitions to progress further up into a more compliance advisory role, or even to other functions?

Originally Posted by Unregistered (Post 96963)

In my opinion, KYC is more transferable because you need to understand the client, end to end, in terms of profile. For risk management, you also need to understand the risk involving the client, which goes back to the client's profile.

TM is more transferable if you want to be an investigator. In many banks, TM does end to end, from alert disposition to SAR filing. If you are doing that in a bank, it will be easier for you to move to AML advisory. I have seen quite a few Compliance people moved to do AML, but I haven't seen many AML people moving to do Compliance. There are much few movements within Compliance (compared to AML) these days as well. Many Compliance people are more grounded to their role these days.