Investment Banking Fulfilment Team – Consist off 8 team members currently. Support and process for Structured Trade and Commodity Finance, Debt, RPF, SAF and Agency.
Executing of Instructions (Payment and Trade Instruments) for the IBD space. Monitoring and Reporting inclusive of Nostro/Vostro Reconciliations
To deliver and administer all procedures pertaining to Structured Commodity Finance and IBD Products (Debt and Agency) and services within required SLAs. This includes swift payments, and processing of Trade Instruments. Managing various Risk reports.
Key Accountabilities - Accountability: Capturing Transactions
• Prepare and verify all information to ensure that the required standards of,
import and export Letters of Credit, Documentary collections and related transactions
are adhered to prior to submission for processing.
• Ensure technical correctness of each client instruction including:
- confirmation of completeness of client’s instruction
- validating or obtaining an exchange rate where necessary
• Check that exchange control is authorised. If an Exchange Control Application (ECA) has been submitted, ensure that a copy of the relevant application and approvals are obtained, adhered to and filed with the transaction.
- obtain and capture the correct Balance of Payments (BOP) category.
- check that signatories have been validated
- check indemnities where applicable
• Where documents are compliant, advise the overseas bank / client accordingly as per
Absa policies and ICC rulings.
• Action payment instructions accordingly.
• Ensure adherence to quality standards to avoid risks to the Bank through effective &
efficient submission of transactions.
• Adhere to service level agreements by ensuring timely processing
• Draw Day End listings and action accordingly to ensure that all work received is
actioned on the same day.
• Review and monitor all office suspense accounts to ensure that there is a debit for
every credit within 48 hours and that the reconciliation has a nil balance.
• File each document pertaining to transactions according to the set criteria within the
department for ease of reference.
• Ensure the effective filing, archiving & retrieval of documentation is in line with Absa
policies.
• Read Absa and departmental circulars on a daily basis and, where necessary, clarify the
contents of these with Team Leader to ensure understanding and implementation.
• Instruct and follow up Client On Boarding and the Trade Solutions Specialist on the
need to create banks’ and customer portfolios.
• Compile and clear reconciliations of accounts by passing entries over the relevant
accounts to correct entries when required.
• Action Day End procedures to mitigate risk.
Accountability: Compliance and Risk Control
• Comply with prescribed policies, processes and procedures to prevent any financial losses.
• Comply with statutory and regulatory requirements, by checking that clients are FICA compliant, adhering to Exchange Control Regulations and Absa Sanctions Screening Policy.
• Complete all relevant compliance training and be conversant with the relevant
regulations that impact on day to day functions.
• Apply and interpret customer transactions through effective application of
International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) guidelines:
- International Standard Banking Practice
- Uniform customs & practice for doc credits (UCP 600)
- Rules on international standby practices (ISP 98)
- Uniform rules for bank to bank reimbursement under doc credits
- Uniform rules for documentary collections (URC 522)
- ICC official rules for interpretation of trade terms (INCO terms 2000)
• Apply individual technical expertise to ensure 100% accuracy of all transactions.
• Authenticate and complete instructions/transactions received within turnaround times and in line with the Absa Sanctions Screening policy.
• Make suggestions to the Team Leader or Line Manager on improvements to client solutions based on knowledge of the trade value chain.
• Monitor adherence to filing policies and procedures, and compliance to archiving and retrieval mechanisms that are in place for documentation.
• Check that the correct balance of payment (BOP) reporting for exchange control purposes is done
• Identify losses due to processing errors or internal fraud in the department. Escalate to the manager and provide all the required information to allow logging of the Risk and Loss events, and participate in the investigations.
• Verify International Financial Institution (IFI) and Group legal departments’ opinions and authorisations on transactions.
• Monitor and ensure compliance with prescribed polices, processes and procedures to prevent any financial losses when verifying, authorising and releasing transactions. This includes mandates, waiver of commissions and ICC rulings.
• When verifying, authorising and releasing transactions, check for compliance with statutory and regulatory requirements by ensuring that clients are FICA compliant. Adhere to BOP, Exchange Control Regulations and Absa Sanctions screening policy.
• Complete all relevant compliance training and be conversant with the relevant regulations that impact on day to day functions.
• Verify, release and authorise work by tracking and actioning workflow queues within agreed time standards.
• Apply individual expertise to ensure 100% accuracy of transactions verified, released and authorised.
Accountability: Customer Service and Query Resolution
• Provide a high quality of service to all clients within agreed SLAs
• Ensure high quality of communication to internal and external clients, both verbal and written.
• Take ownership when dealing with a customer queries or requests, offer suggestions and conclude complaints constructively by investigating and resolving clients’ queries whilst protecting the banks reputation.
• Highlight issues and make suggestions to product teams to improve customer service.
• Satisfy customer needs through the effective and efficient resolution of customer queries escalated from the team, customers or the Bank.
• Monitor to ensure that resolutions are documented and follow up with internal and external customers to satisfactory resolution of their issues/queries.
• Maintain quality standards in respect of client service by ensuring that team members are trained and aware of standards.
• Based on observations made when interacting with clients, make suggestions for improvements to transaction flows and to client solutions based on knowledge of the trade value chain.
• Highlight issues and make suggestions to product teams to improve customer service.
• Minimum 2 years’ experience in foreign exchange
• Minimum 1 year exposure to reconciliations function
• Letter of credit or trade finance experience (1 year)
• Swift Payments (5 Years)
- Knowledge of regulatory and statutory requirements: FICA, Exchange Control, Sanctions Trade Finance, Money laundering
- Analysis of verbal and numerical data
- Knowledge of banking systems
- Thorough knowledge of Letters of Credit, Foreign Guarantees & Bills for Collection
- Computer literacy
- Delivering results and meeting customer expectations
- Achieving personal work goals and objectives
- Leading and supervising
- Planning and Organizing
- Adhering to principles and values
- Nostro/Vostro reconciliation exposure
- Experience in cross border payments
1. What is the difference between a MT103 and MT202
2. Provide an example in which case a MT103 and MT202 will be used in combination
3. If Inco Term under a letter of credit is CIF – What document is mandatory to present?