Maria: Can you tell us a bit about yourselves and your career paths?
Emmanuel: Well, I’ll go first [laughs]. I started my career at a foreign exchange bank as a Customer Service Agent delivering monetary instruments. I moved to various other roles and departments, including trading currency. One day, I met up with a Chief Compliance Officer who advised me about the future of Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorist Financing (AML/ATF) and offered me a job on the spot! That day changed my career path. I started as a Compliance Officer and moved to Tangerine Bank as an AML/ATF Investigator, later being promoted. I am now at Scotiabank assisting with building the Triage unit as a Senior Manager.
Rohan: I have been in the financial services industry for just over 11 years. I first started my career as a summer student in another financial institution. After finishing my studies at York University, I transitioned into a full-time position as a Customer Service Representative. I found interest in AML through networking and a project within my department that was AML-related. This eventually led me to accept an Analyst position in AML at another bank. In the three years at that financial institution, I became a subject matter expert and was promoted twice during that time.
M: Your experiences are so inspiring! Keeping in mind that you’re both on the same team, how would you describe an “average” day for both of you?
R: I’ll answer this one first! [laughs]. I usually make breakfast for my wife and sons before heading to work. Once I’m in the office, I try to plan my day as I like to have a routine, mostly focusing on individual touchpoints with my team members to gauge areas for improvement, discuss goals and overall career development. I also look into any continuous improvement opportunities for the department to boost our productivity, quality of work, and culture.
E: For me, because we are a relatively new and expanding unit, I am typically on the floor with the analysts or in meetings at the drawing board advancing what matters most and fielding the best team.
M: Thank you for sharing! What are a few items you can’t live without?
E: Bible, family, phone, headphones, and TV.
R: I’d say my first item is my cellphone; it’s the main source of communication with my family and I used it to constantly check the Raptors’ game score! My second would be my hair clippers; I must absolutely get a haircut no less than every two weeks. The third would be a picture of my wife and I as it reminds me of how lucky I am to have such an amazing person by my side for the rest of my life.
M: Very nice. How would you describe our company culture at Scotiabank?
E: The culture has always been very collaborative and offers an open environment with many opportunities. People are encouraged to share their thoughts and concerns on a regular basis - and our team even discusses what we did over the weekend. Scotiabankers are here to learn and grow while still having a good time and getting to know each other.
R: I completely agree with Emmanuel. I am privileged to work in a multicultural department with people from different parts of the world who form such dynamic teams. I also know that there is always a conscious effort to ensure that everyone is treated equally and that each person’s opinions and beliefs are respected.
M: Yes, Scotiabank has such a unique culture! Why don’t you tell us a little bit about your team – how big is it and what kinds of roles exist?
E: Of course! We are officially AML Operations, Triage. Our team is currently about 60 people and counting. Within the unit, we have two teams: Intake and Triage. The Intake team prepares alerts and routes them for investigation (either to the Triage team or the Financial Intelligence Unit), while the Triage team conducts investigations.
R: My team is comprised of 11 individuals who are all responsible for reviewing alerted activity to determine whether further investigation is warranted based on potentially identified red flags. The broader team consists of Intake Analysts, Intake Supervisors and an Intake Manager.
M: That’s great! All in all, how do you recruit and retain the best people?
E: Well, we constantly post job opportunities on the career site. But we make a habit of celebrating success and provide an open and friendly work environment. As a result, employees don’t have that “need to get out of here” experience and many employees express that they look forward to coming to work every day. The Bank also has a budget to help employees obtain a world-renowned certification in AML known as CAMS (Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist). All of these things (and more) help us with recruiting and retaining top talent.
R: I agree with Manny. We retain the best people by being honest with them. We encourage them to take advantage of the growth opportunities within the department and recognize their contributions to building a high-performing Triage team. At this stage in our department, there are a lot of change initiatives. Our employees not only thrive in their role but are at the forefront of offering and implementing areas of improvement within the department. At Scotiabank, we want to recruit and retain top talent who have an eye for detecting unusual activity and a desire to grow and excel in a thriving AML department.
Interested in joining our AML/ATF team at Scotiabank? Learn more about our open roles here!