AML/Compliance/KYC professionals come in!

Hi guys, may I know which ministries or any government companies I can join with compliance skills? From my research it's only MAS and CAD. Are there any other government bodies that I've missed out? Thank you for all your help!

Serious question to all. I heard some law students are applying to join compliance teams in banks.

1. How big of a threat is this to the fresh grads positions?
2. Do they get paid on par with law firms? What about annual increments?


Extremely appreciative if anyone elucidates on the above.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

I'm perm ah. The real reason is cause I'm being forced to learn at the same pace as others but I feel I'm ready to learn more. If I show signs of wanting to take more responsibility or more work some ppl may not be happy. N if I jump can get higher pay also... Just that 8 months doesn't look gd on resume so quite conflicted. Any advice from seniors from compliance here?

From a hiring manager's perspective, these are the questions I will ask you
1) Why do you want to leave?
2) What knowledge do you currently have? I will also ask technical questions to verify if you indeed know what you claim to know, or you are just BS-ing.
How do I know that you are not going to leave, after 6 - 12 months, after learning sufficient knowledge to work independently?

Nobody is interested to spend time to train a junior, only to have the junior leaving, after learning the ropes. Its a complete waste of time, plus, most bigger banks have hiring restrictions. Resignation headcounts are not always replaced. And additional time to replace the headcount, or even losing a headcount will add unnecessarily stress to existing team. I have told HR to blacklist an employee, who joined the bank for a short period, and resigned shortly after, giving rubbish reasons during resignation. The market is small and the boy is only job hopping for more money. It is a complete waste of my time, and I do not want the same person to waste my colleagues' time.

If you feel that you can take on more responsibilities, you should step up and talk to your direct supervisors. You should not worry about annoying your peers/colleagues. At the end of the day, you are responsible for planning your own career path, not theirs. If they decides to not take any action, they have themselves to blame. If you can't even manage your peers, how do you expect to manage them, if you become a supervisor one day?

You should also bear in mind, most supervisors will only consider putting a candidate for a promotion, after the person has proven over 2 consecutive years outstanding performance. There are always exceptions, but they are exceptions.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

From a hiring manager's perspective, these are the questions I will ask you
1) Why do you want to leave?
2) What knowledge do you currently have? I will also ask technical questions to verify if you indeed know what you claim to know, or you are just BS-ing.
How do I know that you are not going to leave, after 6 - 12 months, after learning sufficient knowledge to work independently?

Nobody is interested to spend time to train a junior, only to have the junior leaving, after learning the ropes. Its a complete waste of time, plus, most bigger banks have hiring restrictions. Resignation headcounts are not always replaced. And additional time to replace the headcount, or even losing a headcount will add unnecessarily stress to existing team. I have told HR to blacklist an employee, who joined the bank for a short period, and resigned shortly after, giving rubbish reasons during resignation. The market is small and the boy is only job hopping for more money. It is a complete waste of my time, and I do not want the same person to waste my colleagues' time.

If you feel that you can take on more responsibilities, you should step up and talk to your direct supervisors. You should not worry about annoying your peers/colleagues. At the end of the day, you are responsible for planning your own career path, not theirs. If they decides to not take any action, they have themselves to blame. If you can't even manage your peers, how do you expect to manage them, if you become a supervisor one day?

You should also bear in mind, most supervisors will only consider putting a candidate for a promotion, after the person has proven over 2 consecutive years outstanding performance. There are always exceptions, but they are exceptions.

What if I stepped up and was told no, cant hav more responsibility, learn at same pace as other ppl much younger than you but same rank as you. I can't move forward

Originally Posted by Unregistered

What if I stepped up and was told no, cant hav more responsibility, learn at same pace as other ppl much younger than you but same rank as you. I can't move forward

It is very rare, if you are in a bigger organization, that a supervisor will deter someone from stepping up, willingly to take up more work and responsibilities. Most major bank has remediation to fix, and every bank has shortage in headcounts. Anyone who is willing to pick up more work, is more often appreciated. You are either very very unlucky to have a boss who is not willing to assign more workload/responsibilities to you, or you haven't been honest about your work attitude.

There is always two sides to a story. You might think that you are not given a chance, but from your supervisor's perspective, he might simply think that you are not ready, and don't want to tell you that, in your face. Unfortunately, not every AML officer are taught how to be a supervisor, let alone a good and honest supervisor.

Assuming that you are really very unlucky, to have a supervisor who is incapable of managing the team and assigning more responsibilities to individuals who are keen to do more, I would suggest for you to speak to other teams, understand what they are doing, and look for internal transfer. Internal transfer always look better on your CV and most organization allows internal transfer if you have been in the role for 18 - 24 months. Alternatively, network outside the organization, either via taking ACAMs or attending external AML events/conferences. There are plenty of free conferences if you open your eyes and look for it.

Before you make the next move, find out what you are getting into (in terms of work and the boss you will be reporting to). You should try to make sure that you are working for a supervisor who fits what you are looking for in a supervisor as well, beside the job and the job title. Don't just jump into a job because they are paying you a bit more, or the job title sound fancy. Find out why there is the vacancy, and who is your supervisor going to be. Check his/her reputation, if you can or ask the interviewer directly on his/her work style. Be honest and share your work style. If you have to lie, to get the job, you are going to be frustrated almost immediately because of a mismatch of expectations.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Hi guys, may I know which ministries or any government companies I can join with compliance skills? From my research it's only MAS and CAD. Are there any other government bodies that I've missed out? Thank you for all your help!

There is Iras and CPIB as well.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

There is Iras and CPIB as well.

May I know which department under iras takes in person with financial compliance skill? Thanks so much

Originally Posted by Unregistered

my asking is less then $3k, is it reasonable? i have tried all jobs portal like jobsdb, job street , jobs bank etc , but still not getting anything. what's the chance of moving from front office to middle office? seems like even for contract they require candidates to have experience which is i'm currently lacking.

The above was posted by me. Update : after mass sending for KYC/AML position, I am glad to be shortlisted for 2 interviews next week. Market might be tough now but we just have to keep trying!

Originally Posted by Unregistered

The above was posted by me. Update : after mass sending for KYC/AML position, I am glad to be shortlisted for 2 interviews next week. Market might be tough now but we just have to keep trying!

That's great to hear, all the best for the interviews. What is the title of the job you applied for?

Originally Posted by Unregistered

That's great to hear, all the best for the interviews. What is the title of the job you applied for?

All are KYC analyst (contract & perm)