Client Onboarding Specialist - Scotiabank, Montreal

Role Overview

Join Scotiabank's Canadian Commercial Banking (CCB) Compliance team as a Client Onboarding Specialist in Montreal. This role is vital for executing specific individual goals and initiatives that support the team’s business strategies and objectives, ensuring all activities comply with governing regulations, internal policies, and procedures.

The Client Onboarding Specialist (COS) is responsible for the end-to-end execution of onboarding, KYC Refresh, Non-AML Terminations, and other essential Know Your Client (KYC) activities for both new and existing CCB clients. This includes completing Business Banking Client Portal (BBCP)/Client Profile Information (CPI) documentation and processing associated fulfillment activities. You will centrally coordinate these activities, working closely with the Commercial Onboarding Team (COT), CCB Bankers, internal partners, and directly engaging with clients. Your subject matter knowledge and open communication will ensure the timely resolution of issues within your scope of responsibilities, dealing directly with CCB Business Units and clients to ensure accuracy of account information, documentation, and signing authorities.

Key Responsibilities

• Champions a customer focused culture to deepen client relationships and leverage broader Bank relationships, systems and knowledge.
• Taking responsibility for completing BBCP/CPI documentation, thoroughly, promptly and accurately by conducting due diligence, collecting KYC from client and reliable sources, and certifying that the documentation is true and accurate, and that the client’s risk profile is within the Bank’s risk appetite.
• Perform fulfillment duties, such as banking document processing, client signature collection, account opening, and e-Consent set up.
• Complete non-AML termination requests and perform administrative tasks for AML offboarding.
• Act as a Subject Matter Expert for AML/KYC and Onboarding requirements by being the point of contact for clients during their onboarding journey. The COS will be responsible for explaining requirements, request additional information, and providing status updates directly to the client.
• Accurately identifying higher-risk industries/individuals (e.g. PEPs, Sanctions etc.) and escalating through the proper channels when necessary.
• When required, review name screening alerts in Fircosoft for Commercial Business Units that are under ACRM Lite process, performing cross-checks and dispositioning the alerts promptly and accurately.
• Review the Roynat portfolio to ensure borrower’s files comply with KYC/AML requirements.
• Perform other KYC activities (e.g., AML/KYC remediations, report filing) and work with Bankers, internal partners and clients to gather all information as required.
• Responsible for managing seamless onboarding of Commercial Clients including but not limited to:
• Source of expertise to inform Clients of the AML/KYC & onboarding process, ensuring they are aware of what to expect and keep them up to date with status.
• Simultaneous Document Generation.
• Obtaining Client signatures and collection of completed documents.
• Ensuring all products opened and operational as expected.
• Confirming all documentation uploaded to centralized filing as required.
• Working knowledge of Commercial products and policies to respond to client requests.
• Ensure KYC procedures and policies have been followed in the completion of BBCP/CPI documentation.
• Escalate complex or non-standard structures to your manager as required.
• Keep KYC/AML knowledge current by reviewing any policy changes.
• Maintain a thorough knowledge of the KYC and CPI documentation requirements.
• Demonstrate professionalism and commitment to adhering to established SLAs and where not possible, develop plan for communication to partners and advise/consult with Manager as appropriate.
• Maintain a good understanding of the Bank’s products and service.
• Actively participate in team huddles to help resolve issues and raise concerns impacting timely case completion and remediation of accounts.
• Escalate issues and/or concerns immediately to your supervisor for corrective action in a timely manner.
• Participation in the execution of Training, as well as prepare for and participate in coaching.
• Ensure every client experience is consistent with Scotiabank’s service standards and client concerns are resolved quickly and efficiently, escalating to the Manager.
• Adhering to regulatory activities and guidelines including Privacy, AML/Anti-Terrorist Financing and KYC policies.
• Following department guidelines for the storage, access and delivery of client/Bank documents.
• Ensuring authentication of clients prior to the release of information.
• Understand how the Bank’s risk appetite and risk culture should be considered in day-to-day activities and decisions.
• Actively pursues effective and efficient operations of his/her respective areas in accordance with Scotiabank’s Values, its Code of Conduct and the Global Sales Principles, while ensuring the adequacy, adherence to and effectiveness of day-to-day business controls to meet obligations with respect to operational, compliance, AML/ATF/sanctions and conduct risk, including but not limited to responsibilities under the Operational Risk Management Framework, Regulatory Compliance Risk Management Framework, AML/ATF Global Handbook and the Guidelines for Business Conduct.
• Champions a high-performance environment and contributes to an inclusive work environment.

Who We're Looking For

• Working knowledge of the Bank’s products and services.
• Works very well within a team atmosphere, but can work independently when warranted.
• Highly confident in order to bring up issues and concerns within a team where they may be the more junior member.
• Exceptional organization skills.
• High levels of accuracy and thoroughness in order to review and perfect documents.
• Ability to effectively and concisely communicate issues and concerns related to issues/challenges identified.
• Experience in customer service, back-office production, branch environment or Business Banking Operations (BBO) environment an asset.

In addition to French, the successful candidate must also have sufficient knowledge of English, as the work involves interacting and collaborating regularly with groups and individuals based in Toronto, as well as constantly interacting with other people, including clients, who speak English, locally and elsewhere.

About Scotiabank

Join Scotiabank, a purpose-driven winning team committed to results, in an inclusive and high-performing culture. Scotiabank is a leading bank in the Americas, offering a comprehensive range of products and services to individuals, businesses, and corporations across Canada and internationally.