Philippines
Hi, I'm Renz. ACAMS-certified KYC Associate with 8+ years' experience across multi-jurisdictional financial services, spanning both in-house and consultancy roles in payments, retail and mid-corporate banking, and financial advisory environments. Built end-to-end KYC and CDD experience across onboarding, periodic and event-driven reviews, and regulatory remediation, covering Retail, Private Banking, Mid-Corporates, and Wholesale portfolios. Primary focus on the Dutch and wider EU frameworks, with additional exposure to APAC, US and Australia–New Zealand AML/CTF requirements. Progressed from a hands-on contributor into a support and escalation role, with strong policy interpretation, quality checks, and process improvement experience. Known for improving throughput, strengthening controls, and bridging analysts, stakeholders, and policy teams. I take a practical, risk-based approach in which for me, KYC isn't just box-ticking, it's about protecting the financial system while keeping the business moving. Disclaimer: Views and opinions expressed are solely my own.
‣ Performed end-to-end transactions monitoring (TM) investigations for retail customers of Chime Financial, Inc. in partnership with Stride Bank and The Bancorp Bank, analyzing customer behavior, account activity, and transaction patterns to identify potential fraud, suspicious activity, and financial crime risks across multiple typologies including cryptocurrency-related activity, cash withdrawals, high-risk geographies and merchants, international transactions, elder abuse indicators, flow-through activity, excessive fund transfers, MSB exposure, monetary instruments, dormant account activity, RDFI monitoring, keyword-based alerts, human/sex trafficking indicators, tax fraud, etc. ‣ Assessed, documented, and dispositioned alerts in line with regulatory and client requirements, including escalation of high-risk cases and recommendations for UAR filing or no further action based on investigative findings. ‣ Exited Accenture due to role misalignment between the expected KYC-QA/QC function and the assigned TM-Analyst/Maker responsibilities.
‣ Acted as Senior Risk Analyst through Concentrix for ANZ Worldline. ‣ Conducted CDD, OCDD, ECDD reviews for Australian merchants, responsible for mitigating various risks such as industry, customer, geographical, financial, and environmental & social risks. ‣ Part of the 1st line of risk and compliance defense against financial crime and fraud prevention under Australian legislation. ‣ Provided support to CDD teams in Manila and Melbourne by clarifying policies, identifying process gaps, conducting root cause analysis to streamline workflows, and recommending best practices.
‣ Became Specialist through passing the acceleration program in MidCorp. ‣ Acted as Signatory for complex MidCorp cases, providing final review and approval of CDD files, ensuring compliance with internal policies, regulatory standards, and risk appetite. ‣ Led and facilitated calibration sessions with analysts, fellow checkers, and SMEs to align on policy interpretation, risk assessment standards, and FEC materiality decisions, improving consistency and reducing rework. ‣ Trained new hires, delivering end-to-end onboarding support from tools and system navigation to CDD case creation, desktop review, and profile completion to ensure their readiness and productivity from an actor myself. ‣ Served as a go-to subject matter resource, supporting analysts in resolving complex cases, addressing escalations, and bridging gaps between operations and compliance stakeholders. ‣ Initiated and led improvements to the Signatory Capacity Checker tool, streamlining workload visibility and allocation, resulting in more efficient case distribution and turnaround time. ‣ Recognized contributor to ING sustainability initiatives, leading annual tree planting projects and driving employee engagement in sustainable practices and upcoming projects. ‣ Demonstrated leadership in task delegation, prioritization, and workflow management, ensuring timely delivery of high-quality outputs across the team.
‣ Became Senior Analyst through an off-cycle promotion. ‣ Selected as one of the ING Sustainability Pillars within FCFP NL Retail, organizing initiatives such as tree-planting activities, business collaborations, and campaigns promoting sustainable practices among employees.
‣ Led end-to-end onboarding of new clients (walk-in and solicited), ensuring full compliance with KYC/AML regulatory standards. ‣ Performed core KYC due diligence procedures including: Customer identification and verification (ID&V), sanctions and negative file screening, PEP identification, FATCA/CRS profiling and classification, and initial transaction monitoring for new accounts. ‣ Used internal systems such as T24 and OmniDocs for client profile creation, documentation validation, and record retention. ‣ Conducted thorough review of customer-submitted documents (valid IDs, proof of address, income documents, corporate papers), ensuring they met internal and BSP compliance standards. ‣ Managed onboarding documentation and ensured audit readiness and zero tolerance for KYC gaps. ‣ Monitored and processed NTB (New-to-Bank) and ETB (Existing-to-Bank) prospects, tracking StoreX growth and client portfolio expansion. ‣ Executed cross-selling strategies by identifying client needs and recommending appropriate financial products such as time deposits, UITFs, FX, and bonds. ‣ Processed time deposit placements, renewals, and terminations with strict adherence to client instructions and compliance requirements. ‣ Handled email and inter-branch coordination, including signature verification and document authentication requests. ‣ Acted as custodian of the outer vault and safety deposit boxes, ensuring secure access and accurate log management. ‣ Assisted ad-hoc duties including back-to-back loans, FX spot transactions, bond subscriptions, and other transactions requiring detailed due diligence and risk assessments.
‣ Solicited and onboarded new-to-bank (NTB) clients, including individuals, sole proprietors, and corporate entities, ensuring compliance with KYC pre-screening protocols prior to endorsement to the onboarding team. ‣ Performed initial customer due diligence, including: Customer identification and verification (ID&V), basic risk assessment and profiling, sanctions and adverse media checks, and document completeness check aligned with BSP and bank policies. ‣ Ensured that all client records were compliant before account opening, thereby reducing back-and-forth with the onboarding and compliance teams. ‣ Deep knowledge of EastWest Bank's deposit and non-deposit products, including CASA (Current Account/Savings Account), Time Deposits, Special Savings, Consumer Loans, and Bancassurance. ‣ Promoted cash management solutions to SMEs and corporate clients, including: Payroll systems, POS terminals (GHL), check disbursement solutions, and BancNet eGov filing systems. ‣ Achieved sales targets while maintaining compliance with internal KYC, AML, and onboarding standards ‣ Acted as a frontliner in educating prospects on documentation requirements, enabling smoother transition to onboarding and improving first-time-right submissions.