Senior Manager, Financial Crime Oversight, Global Private Banking and Wealth

The opportunity: Senior Manager, Financial Crime Oversight, Global Private Banking and Wealth

At HSBC, we’re a trusted international organization with a global customer base of around 39 million customers worldwide through a network that covers 62 countries and territories. In Europe, our ambition is to become the leading international wholesale bank and we need talent like you to help us meet our ambition. Whether you want a career that could take you to the top or in an exciting new direction—we offer opportunities, support and rewards that will take you further.

The Financial Crime (FC) Function is a second line of defence function that includes ‘Risk Stewards’ who are independent of the commercial risk-taking teams (the first line of defence).  Risk Stewards are responsible for reviewing and challenging the activities of the first line of defence to ensure that, as ‘Risk Owners’, they effectively manage the financial crime risk inherent in, or arising from, the conduct of the activities and for which they are responsible.  FC risk is a non-financial risk that includes fraud, money laundering, bribery and corruption, sanctions violations, terrorist financing, proliferation financing, export control violations and tax evasion. The FC function operates in accordance with HSBC Group’s Risk Management Framework (RMF).

The Global Private Banking & Wealth Financial Crime Oversight Team provide oversight and challenge of Private Banking relationships with particular focus on Special Category Customers (SCC), High Risk relationships and Booking Centres and themes identified for increased oversight, to ensure globally consistent, robust reviews and that as a bank we exercise our full suite of financial crime controls and critical thinking, to prevent HSBC products and services being used for financial crime. They act as a Global Financial Crime Risk Stewardship centre of expertise and guidance for onboarding and escalation of such cases. 

Are you interested? Do you have Risk and Compliance experience? Do you enjoy being part of a global team? 

If you answered yes to any of these questions, we want to hear from you! 

What you will do: 

The Senior Manager, Financial Crime Oversight, Global Private Banking & Wealth (GPB&W) is positioned in the GPB&W Financial Crime Risk Stewardship Team.  They are required to sample existing client relationships and review escalated High Risk / SCC onboardings, to ensure that enhanced customer due diligence has been carried out effectively and that financial crime risks are appropriately identified, mitigated and controlled.  Enhanced due diligence includes source of wealth, source of funds, purpose of account, assessment of negative news and any financial crime indicators.  The role holder will also provide advice and guidance to local financial crime teams on complex cases, risk appetite and intelligence sought through external vendors. The role is a key risk management role with a targeted remit and responsibilities including, but not limited to:

• Review and challenge of onboarding of high risk and SCC relationships across GPB booking centres globally.  
• Carries out risk-based sampling of existing client relationships across GPB booking centres globally.
• Coordinates a programme of targeted thematic reviews, working with local financial crime stewards.
• Provides guidance to local financial crime stewards on the sourcing and use of insight and intelligence provided by external vendors including scoping of reports and interpretation and assessment of findings.
• Manages case workload in line with Service Level Agreements (SLAs), business and financial crime priorities.
• Works closely with HSBC Financial Crime Investigations teams drawing upon resources and insights arising through wider investigative activity.    
• Identifies and reports on emerging themes and areas for action identified through cases reviewed.
• Identifies cases for escalation to Global and Group Reputational Risk & Client Selection Committees in line with policy, procedure and risk appetite.
• Provides advice and guidance on controls that should be in place to mitigate financial crime risk
• Establishes strong, trusting and mutually supportive relationships with 1LoD and 2LoD stakeholders.
• Provides feedback on errors or control weaknesses identified, inputs to and delivers feedback sessions and training in collaboration with Global Private Banking business teams.

Major Challenges:

HSBC is an extremely diverse business with significant geographical spread and activities that span a universal banking model, including continuing to innovate to keep abreast of changes in financial services markets globally. Such activity is in an increasingly regulated and complex global environment with often little consistency between laws and regulations in different jurisdictions and regulators taking a far more proactive approach in ensuring local compliance with their requirements and imposing increasingly stringent sanctions for breaches.

The Global Private Banking Business, Ultra-High Net Worth Individuals and particular jurisdictions are characterized by higher risk relationships.  These relationships may also be complex in nature with complex structures, arrangements and connections across multiple jurisdictions.  These inherently higher risk relationships require strong analytical assessment and critical thinking to ensure that financial crime risks have been sufficiently assessed, understood and mitigated.  

Working on customer cases across multiple jurisdictions requires the job holder to:

• Effectively work with stakeholders across jurisdictions and time zones. Understanding their objectives and time pressures whilst maintaining independence and quality standards. 
• Manage workload within agreed timescales and SLAs and manage the demands of the multiple diverse aspects of the role.
• Maintain a global perspective, connecting the dots, with consideration and appreciation of regional differences, strategy and risks.

This role will assist the Group in achieving a balance between the demands of regulators, external bodies and governmental initiatives and the Group’s shareholders and customers in enacting FC compliance; being alive to the political, management, regulatory and reputational implications of a particular decision and courses of action at a global level; assisting executive management in the development of controls and systems and influencing the way in which the business is conducted in order to manage these risks, meeting Group risk appetite.

The increased focus on individual liability for senior managers, particularly Risk Heads, makes it increasingly important for the Group to be able to evidence adequate systems and controls.

The role is one where regulatory authorities have high expectations and is likely to come under scrutiny as part of any major regulatory investigation.

You should apply if you have:

• Experience and understanding of the Private Banking and Wealth Management business.
• Experience working within a regulatory, investigative, or financial intelligence agency, or as a senior compliance or risk and manager within a global firm in the financial services industry.
• Strong understanding of Financial Crime Policy and Procedures including Customer Due Diligence and Enhanced Due Diligence.
• Strong understanding of the current regulatory environment and expectations, relevant regulations, codes, and as well as their underlying purpose to mitigate risk to the financial system and provide information useful for the public sector to provide law enforcement and security.
• Strong understanding of financial crime typologies, emerging themes and how they may manifest in Global Private Banking and Wealth relationships.
• Critical thinker, analytical.
• Excellent communication and inter-personal skills, with experience of dealing with first and second line stakeholders across regions and markets.
• Degree educated and or relevant professional finance, regulatory or financial crime risk management qualifications.
• Due to immigration restrictions in Switzerland we will only be able to consider applications from Swiss or EU citizens or from candidates holding a valid Swiss work permit.

Even if you feel you do not meet 100% of our qualifications, we encourage you to apply, if you believe this role is right for you.