Akiya L. Britton
Oakland,CA
Summary
Seasoned professional offering more than Fifteen (15) years of experience within Risk Management, BSA/AML Operations, Customer Risk Rating (CRR), Financial Crimes and Enhanced Due Diligence. Experienced leader of complex Financial crimes investigations, law enforcement investigations, and enhanced due diligence. Key contributor to BSA/AML's strategic initiatives which ensure ongoing maintenance and improvements to maintain a strong compliance risk management program. Detail-oriented team player with strong organizational skills. Ability to handle multiple projects simultaneously with a high degree of accuracy.
Overview
18
18
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work History
Head of Enhanced Due Diligence
First Republic Bank
San Francisco, CA
01.2023 - 07.2024
- Manage day to day operations of the customer risk rating (CRR) process, inventory management, escalation, and disengagements of client relationships that fall outside of the Bank's risk appetite
- Oversee EDD managers, their respective teams of investigators and outside consultants
- Management of the Banks highest risk rated clientele which include Crypto Related Businesses (CRB), Alternative Investment (A.I.s), Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO)
- Ensure that parties fall within the Bank's risk appetite, escalate parties that require SAR obligations and do not fall within the Banks risk framework
- Drive and manage department Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), production and ensure the EDD work product is in adherence with set Service Level Agreements (SLA) standards
- Collaborate with executive management and account officers on complex case matters, risk escalations and disengagements due to negative news, Financial irregularities, ESAC concerns or relationships that fall outside of the Bank's risk framework
- Responsible for all aspects of employee management which encompasses candidate selection, setting department and individual goals, approving, and administering performance reviews and corrective / disciplinary actions
- Key contributor to re-design CRR methodology moving from a deterministic to an expert judgement model
- Drive enhancements/ operational efficiencies to the EDD work product by partnering with the Policy & Program Office, Risk & Strategy and Data Science Analytics to modify/enhance the way clients are risk rated utilizing various data points aggregated from internal systems and transactional activities
- Advise relationship managers/bankers on risk identified on prospective clientele during the onboarding phase related to the prospective client, signers, beneficial owner(s), investment adviser/ manager, fund administrator or affiliated parties
- Prepare documentation and present to senior management on clients escalated to the Adverse Action Committee (Bank Leadership) for disengagement when BSA and the Line of Business (LOB) have differing opinions
- Present at oversight committee meetings to attain approval for operational changes to the EDD process
- Partner with external and internal partners on audits and exams which included reviewing the request, pulling case reviews, providing feedback, and responding to recommendations and/or findings.
Enhanced Due Diligence Senior Manager
First Republic Bank
San Francisco, CA
01.2021 - 01.2023
- Assignment of alert inventory, daily management of alert inventory, setting service level agreements (SLA), tracking key performance indicators (KPIs) and documented breaches
- Managed a team of six senior investigators, setting individual goals, providing performance reviews, and corrective actions plans
- Managed the end-to-end Customer Risk Rating (CRR) process from alert creation to closure
- Partnered with the data science team on a quarterly basis to ensure pre-run and post-run activities were completed accurately and in a timely manner
- Partnered across various AML Ops verticals/units which included reassigning work items between departments to ensure review, multi departmental reporting, management of inventory due to active escalations, pending exits, SAR90 items and alerts/clients under review.
Enhanced Due Diligence Manager
First Republic Bank
San Francisco, CA
02.2018 - 12.2020
- Assignment of alert inventory, daily management of alert inventory, setting service level agreements (SLA), tracking key performance indicators (KPIs) and documented breaches
- Managed a team of six senior investigators, setting individual goals, providing performance reviews, and corrective actions plans
- Managed the end-to-end Customer Risk Rating (CRR) process from alert creation to closure
- Partnered with the data science team on a quarterly basis to ensure pre-run and post-run activities were completed accurately and in a timely manner
- Partnered across various AML Ops verticals/units which included reassigning work items between departments to ensure review, multi departmental reporting, management of inventory due to active escalations, pending exits, SAR90 items and alerts/clients under review.
Senior DDO Investigator - Due Diligence Operations Unit
First Republic Bank
San Francisco, CA
10.2015 - 01.2018
- Conducted enhanced due diligence and SAR investigations on the Banks highest risk clients and provided analysis and assessment to ensure that these relationships fell within the Banks risk appetite
- Escalated clients to DDO Management and the Policy Office that might harm the Bank's reputation
- Investigations conducted on clients due to manually generated monitoring alerts (i.e., Questionable Activity Referral/QAR) or internal inquiries from Bankers to determine whether any BSA and/or reputational risks exist for prospective clients prior to on-boarding
- Participated in the DDO CRR process improvement project with DDO management to identify areas of congestion, frustration, and redundancy
- Served as liaison between the Bank and law enforcement to better determine the nature of the legal order, the purpose and scope of their investigations, and the role our clients play in their investigations
- Conducted extensive and thorough investigations of clients for which subpoenas, search warrants, IRS-CI summons, and other legal orders received.
Senior BSA/AML Analyst - Financial Intelligence Unit
First Republic Bank
San Francisco, CA
06.2014 - 10.2015
- Conducted enhanced due diligence and SAR investigations on the Banks highest risk clients and provided analysis and assessment to ensure that these relationships fell within the Banks risk appetite
- Escalated clients to DDO Management and the Policy Office that might harm the Bank's reputation
- Investigations conducted on clients due to manually generated monitoring alerts (i.e., Questionable Activity Referral/QAR) or internal inquiries from Bankers to determine whether any BSA and/or reputational risks exist for prospective clients prior to on-boarding
- Participated in the DDO CRR process improvement project with DDO management to identify areas of congestion, frustration, and redundancy
- Served as liaison between the Bank and law enforcement to better determine the nature of the legal order, the purpose and scope of their investigations, and the role our clients play in their investigations
- Conducted extensive and thorough investigations of clients for which subpoenas, search warrants, IRS-CI summons, and other legal orders received.
Special Risk Client Unit (SRCU), AML Investigations Agent
Union Bank
Oakland, CA
11.2010 - 06.2014
- Conducted enhanced due diligence and SAR investigations on the Banks highest risk clients and provided analysis and assessment to ensure that these relationships fell within the Banks risk appetite
- Escalated clients to DDO Management and the Policy Office that might harm the Bank's reputation
- Investigations conducted on clients due to manually generated monitoring alerts (i.e., Questionable Activity Referral/QAR) or internal inquiries from Bankers to determine whether any BSA and/or reputational risks exist for prospective clients prior to on-boarding
- Participated in the DDO CRR process improvement project with DDO management to identify areas of congestion, frustration, and redundancy
- Served as liaison between the Bank and law enforcement to better determine the nature of the legal order, the purpose and scope of their investigations, and the role our clients play in their investigations
- Conducted extensive and thorough investigations of clients for which subpoenas, search warrants, IRS-CI summons, and other legal orders received.
Monitoring Risk Unit (MRU), Senior AML Agent
Union Bank
Oakland, CA
03.2006 - 11.2010
- Conducted enhanced due diligence and SAR investigations on the Banks highest risk clients and provided analysis and assessment to ensure that these relationships fell within the Banks risk appetite
- Escalated clients to DDO Management and the Policy Office that might harm the Bank's reputation
- Investigations conducted on clients due to manually generated monitoring alerts (i.e., Questionable Activity Referral/QAR) or internal inquiries from Bankers to determine whether any BSA and/or reputational risks exist for prospective clients prior to on-boarding
- Participated in the DDO CRR process improvement project with DDO management to identify areas of congestion, frustration, and redundancy
- Served as liaison between the Bank and law enforcement to better determine the nature of the legal order, the purpose and scope of their investigations, and the role our clients play in their investigations
- Conducted extensive and thorough investigations of clients for which subpoenas, search warrants, IRS-CI summons, and other legal orders received.
Education
Bachelor of Science (BS) - Operational Management -
California State University Long Beach
Long Beach, CA05.2004
Bachelor of Science (BS) - Business Management -
California State University Long Beach
Long Beach, CA05.2004
Skills
- Leadership
- Problem-Solving
- Teamwork and Collaboration
- Adaptability
- Project Management
- Communication
- Positive Attitude
- Attention to Detail
- Customer Service
Certification
CertiLied Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS) (2007)
Professional Development
- Organizational Leadership (Level I), University of Pennsylvania (Wharton), San Francisco, CA (2019)
- McKinsey Management Accelerator Program (2021)
Timeline
Head of Enhanced Due Diligence
First Republic Bank
01.2023 - 07.2024
Enhanced Due Diligence Senior Manager
First Republic Bank
01.2021 - 01.2023
Enhanced Due Diligence Manager
First Republic Bank
02.2018 - 12.2020
Senior DDO Investigator - Due Diligence Operations Unit
First Republic Bank
10.2015 - 01.2018
Senior BSA/AML Analyst - Financial Intelligence Unit
First Republic Bank
06.2014 - 10.2015
Special Risk Client Unit (SRCU), AML Investigations Agent
Union Bank
11.2010 - 06.2014
Monitoring Risk Unit (MRU), Senior AML Agent
Union Bank
03.2006 - 11.2010
Bachelor of Science (BS) - Operational Management -
California State University Long Beach
Bachelor of Science (BS) - Business Management -
California State University Long Beach