How KYC & AML professionals can boost their careers
Building a successful career path in Risk & Compliance management involves much more than crunching numbers. Your understanding of the business objectives and a passion for keeping abreast of financial market trends and legislation is important if you want to rise up the ranks. Here are some essential tips that will help you climb up the ladder and make it to the top of your AML/ KYC career.
1. Expand your skill sets: The key to attain career growth in to expand your skill-sets. The experience gained in a particular sector is invaluable; however, limiting oneself to that specific banking sector might not help to grow professionally. Learning KYC from private, corporate, investment banking, payments perspective will arm you with in-depth and broader knowledge. This, in turn, will make you a better asset to the future employer.
2. Size matters, but so does growth: It is gratifying to get exposure from bigger setups. The glitz and glamour associate with the more prominent players in the market are attractive. However, placing a self-imposed restriction and limiting your career only to more prominent names might negatively impact on your growth. It might be a wise bait to seek opportunities in smaller setups such as boutique banks. The current trends suggest an enormous increase in smaller configurations. In addition to higher growth opportunities, one gets maximum exposure to develop one's skill-sets and polish their competencies. For an end to end, the experience will be more appealing for future requites than a specialized role.
3. Broader Coverage and being flexible: With the changing markets, the shift towards Fin-tech and Payments is ominous. To gain the maximum and ride the tide, learning APAC or engagement in a Global coverage role will help you achieve maximum exposure from the regulations perspective. The negativity associated with Remediation or Backlog drives many AML/ KYC professionals away from job situations, which, despite being temporary, offers an excellent learning experience. The timelines and the complexities on the job prepare you for the future and can provide the boost your confidence requires.
Hot areas: The following are the skills you will need to achieve your future career goals and instantly make you more employable.
- KYC Client Outreach - A Mix of private and corporate banks have set up a client outreach team with a maker and client outreach focus. They contact the clients, obtain the necessary KYC documentation, and work closely with Front Office. This approach enhances the overall process with lesser escalations to compliance and faster on-boarding for the front office.
- SOW Projects - Leading international private banks to hire contractors to help them with SOW. Plausibility checks, corroboration, and write-ups, to enhance the process across all levels, i.e., analyst to AVP.
Evolving Business Manager roles - The latest in the Singapore market are the business managers, who primarily handle the remediation program timelines and are responsible for on-time completion of projects.
