Financial Crime, AML/CTF and MLRO Responsibilities – SMF17

• Act as the Bank’s SMF17 Money Laundering Reporting Officer, subject to regulatory approval, and serve as the focal point for the Bank’s AML, counter-terrorist financing, sanctions and wider financial crime compliance activities.
• Develop, execute, maintain, review and enhance the Bank’s financial crime framework, including policies and procedures covering AML/CTF, sanctions, customer due diligence, enhanced due diligence, transaction monitoring, suspicious activity reporting, bribery and corruption, fraud and related controls.
• Develop, execute, maintain, review and enhance the Bank-Wide Risk Assessment (“BWRA”) and ensure that financial crime risks are appropriately identified, assessed, documented, approved and reported to senior management and relevant governance committees.
• Review and challenge customer risk assessments, KYC files, enhanced due diligence cases, sanctions screening results and transaction monitoring alerts, particularly for higher-risk customers, counterparties, sectors or transactions.
• Receive, assess, investigate and, where appropriate, report internal suspicious activity reports, ensuring that all decisions are properly documented and supported by clear rationale and audit trails.
• Ensure that suspicious activity, transaction monitoring alerts and sanctions screening matters are reviewed, escalated, reported and documented with appropriate evidence and audit trails.
• Ensure effective systems and controls are in place for AML/CTF, sanctions screening, customer due diligence, ongoing monitoring, financial crime escalation and suspicious activity reporting.
• Report material financial crime risks, control weaknesses, suspicious activity matters and remediation progress to senior management, the Audit & Risk Committee and the Board.

Data Protection Officer Responsibilities

• Act as the Bank’s Data Protection Officer (“DPO”), where formally appointed, and act as the main point of contact for data protection matters.
• Develop, execute, maintain, review and enhance the Bank’s data protection policies, procedures and control arrangements, including privacy notices, records of processing, data retention, data subject rights and personal data breach escalation.
• Advise the Bank, senior management and employees on applicable data protection obligations, and monitor compliance through training, awareness, DPIAs, periodic reviews and key control testing.
• Oversee ICO liaison where required, periodic reporting to senior management and relevant governance committees, and maintenance of appropriate records and audit trails.

Wider Regulatory Responsibilities

• Support oversight of other relevant regulatory areas applicable to the Bank’s business model, including conduct risk, complaints handling, MiFID II, operational resilience, outsourcing, safeguarding, conflicts of interest and regulatory change management.
• Ensure that relevant regulatory responsibilities are clearly documented, allocated, monitored and reported through appropriate governance channels.

Training and Compliance Culture

• Develop and deliver compliance, conduct risk, AML/CTF, sanctions, data protection and financial crime training to employees, senior management and relevant governance bodies.
• Promote a strong compliance culture and support the embedding of regulatory expectations, conduct standards, financial crime awareness and individual accountability across the Bank.
• Provide regular updates to staff and senior management on regulatory developments, compliance expectations, financial crime risks and lessons learned from internal and external reviews.

Requirements

• Must have prior experience as an SMF16, SMF17, Head of Compliance, MLRO, Deputy MLRO or senior compliance/financial crime professional within a UK regulated financial services firm.
• Strong knowledge of the UK regulatory framework, including FCA and PRA expectations, SM&CR, financial crime requirements, AML/CTF, sanctions, conduct risk and governance standards.
• Relevant professional qualifications in compliance, AML, financial crime, risk management, data protection or financial services regulation would be desirable.
• Good understanding of corporate banking, wholesale banking, lending, securities investment, treasury or correspondent banking activities highly desirable.
• Experience in developing, maintaining and enhancing compliance and financial crime frameworks, policies, procedures, risk assessments and monitoring plans.
• Experience in managing or supporting regulatory remediation, audit findings, compliance reviews, assurance actions or regulatory change programmes.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to explain complex regulatory requirements clearly and concisely to senior management, the Board, staff, auditors, consultants and regulators.
• Strong Microsoft Office skills, including Word and Excel, for preparing reports, MI, action trackers, policies and governance documents.
• Ability to operate effectively in a small-bank environment where the role requires both strategic oversight and hands-on execution.

Conditions

• Job type: full-time & permanent
• Job location: City of London
• Working hours: 9am~5pm (including 1 hour lunch break)
• Salary: fully negotiable depending on experience
• Annual leave: 28 days (including 8 Bank/Public Holidays)
• Benefits: discretionary bonus, pension, medical insurance

Before you apply

• The right candidate must be able to commute to City of London regularly
• Please send your CV in MS Word format
• The right candidate must be eligible to work full-time in UK immediately without any restriction. If you’re on any visa permitting full-time work in UK, please indicate your visa status in your CV and when it expires.
• ONLY right candidates will be contacted, and if your application is successful, we’ll contact you within 5 working days.