BSA/AML - OFAC Specialist

Primary Purpose:

This position is a part of BSA/AML Department, a team that is integral to TowneBank's efforts in the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing. The BSA/AML Department assists the Bank's businesses to design effective processes through the development of consistent and cohesive policies and programs to ensure compliance with all applicable anti-money laundering and Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC) regulations. The OFAC Specialist works within the BSA/AML Department to disposition sanctions screening alerts and related processes.

The OFAC Specialist is responsible for reviewing transaction and account opening sanctions alerts for potential OFAC matches, which includes real-time screening and batched alerts, to ensure compliance with OFAC sanction regulations. OFAC escalations are received from multiple business lines and includes international ACH (IAT) and international wire activity. OFAC Specialists are responsible for documenting results of alert reviews, retaining supporting documentation, and compiling data from sanctions screening for reporting while acting as subject matter expert for other departments including the branch network.

Essential Responsibilities:

• Disposition OFAC screening alert potential matches for newly on-boarded members and on the full member database when OFAC database has been updated
• Conduct OFAC screenings on institution's vendors and dispositions alerts
• Obtain and maintain supporting documentation for all escalations and escalation depositions
• Review OFAC escalations from other Lines of Business including Wire/ACH department, Indirect Lending and Mortgage Departments to disposition positive matches
• Serves as subject matter expert contact for OFAC related inquires
• Communicate with Lines of Business when additional supporting documentation is warranted to support alert dispositions
• Perform necessary research on new and revised sanction programs as directed by the Office of Foreign Assets Control
• Review of rejected transactions and reporting of positive hits as blocked property
• Member of OFAC team for Business Continuity Purposes
• Perform FinCEN 314a screenings and dispositions alerts
• Conduct PEP screenings and investigates reviews
• Assist BSA Reporting Manager during audits, exams, and quality control reviews
• Conduct OFAC training awareness across lines of business
• Update job aids and procedures as necessary
• Adheres to applicable federal laws, rules, and regulations including those related to Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA).
• Other duties as assigned.

Minimum Required Skills & Competencies:

• 1-2 years banking experience and knowledge of bank operations
• Knowledge of bank products and services
• Working knowledge of federal requirements under the Bank Secrecy Act requirements including Customer Identification Program, USA PATRIOT Act and Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) regulations and be familiar with FFIEC BSA/AML Manual guidelines
• Ability to develop strong relationships with peers, and ability to interact with multiple levels of management, internal and external auditors/examiners
• Ability to multi-task, work independently and within a team setting
• Strong written and verbal communication skills
• Detail oriented with good organization skills with proven success meeting deadlines
• Ability to handle confidential customer information
• Working knowledge of Microsoft Office Suite

Desired Skills & Competencies:

• Bachelor's degree in related field such as business management, criminal justice, or economics
• Experience in a financial institution with asset size $10B and over

Physical Requirements:

• Express or exchange ideas by means of the spoken word via email and verbally.
• Exert up to 10 pounds of force occasionally, use your arms and legs, and sit most of the time.
• Have close visual acuity to perform activities such as analyzing data, viewing a computer terminal, reading, and preparing documentation.
• Not substantially exposed to adverse environmental conditions.
• The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential responsibilities of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential responsibilities.

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