BSA Specialist

About the role

First Fed is a local community bank on an exciting growth trajectory with 15 locations including 11 full-service branches in Western Washington. The BSA Specialist supports the Bank's Bank Secrecy Act (BSA), Anti-Money Laundering (AML), Countering the Financing of Terrorism (CFT), Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), Customer Due Diligence (CDD), and related financial crimes compliance programs through monitoring, review, research, and regulatory reporting activities.

Responsibilities

The BSA Specialist is responsible for reviewing alerts, referrals, customer due diligence requirements, watchlist and sanctions monitoring, and other financial crimes detection activities to identify unusual or suspicious activity requiring additional review. The Specialist gathers information, performs research, documents findings, and escalates matters requiring formal investigation.

• Review and disposition transaction monitoring alerts generated through Verafin and other Bank systems.
• Review Customer Due Diligence (CDD) alerts and obtain, analyze, and document customer information necessary to support customer risk assessments.
• Perform Enhanced Due Diligence (EDD) reviews and recommend escalation of higher-risk or more complex customer relationships.
• Review OFAC, watchlist, sanctions screening, negative news, and other risk-monitoring alerts in accordance with established procedures.
• Review customer activity, account relationships, and transactional behavior to identify unusual activity, elevated risk, or information requiring additional review.
• Obtain and document information from customers, business units, public records, and internal systems necessary to support due diligence and monitoring requirements.
• Prepare and file Currency Transaction Reports (CTRs) in accordance with regulatory requirements and internal procedures.
• Open cases and escalate activity requiring formal investigation based on monitoring results, due diligence reviews, referrals, customer activity, or other identified concerns.
• Document alert reviews, due diligence reviews, referrals, findings, and recommendations in accordance with department procedures.
• Assist with maintenance of customer risk ratings, high-risk customer records, and periodic review requirements.
• Respond to BSA-related inquiries and provide support to business units regarding due diligence, monitoring requirements, and financial crimes compliance procedures.
• Identify unusual activity patterns, emerging risks, or opportunities for process improvements and communicate recommendations to management.
• Maintain complete, accurate, and timely records in accordance with regulatory requirements and Bank procedures.

Qualifications

BSA Specialist I: Two (2) years of banking, fraud, compliance, operations, audit, investigations, customer service, or related experience preferred.

• Experience with BSA-related programs or case building applications.
• Proficiency with standard computer applications including Microsoft Office Suite.
• Strong reasoning and problem-solving skills.
• Strong organizational skills and high attention to detail.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills.
• Ability to work independently and with a team.
• Ability to manage time well and prioritize tasks.

In addition to BSA Specialist I Qualifications/Requirements, a BSA Specialist II has:

• Minimum three (3) years of banking, BSA/AML, fraud, compliance, operations, audit, investigations, or related experience preferred.
• Strong understanding of BSA/AML, OFAC, CDD, EDD, and financial crime risk concepts.
• Experience reviewing customer activity, due diligence requirements, alerts, or regulatory reporting.
• Demonstrated ability to independently perform EDD reviews and complex alert analysis.

Physical Requirements

The work requires the ability to operate office machines and equipment, such as personal computers, printers, copying machines and telephones. The work requires the ability to communicate clearly with customers, coworkers, and others in person and on telephones. Work activities involve combinations of sitting/standing for extended periods.

Pay

BSA Specialist I: The pay range for this position is $22.67 - $38.55. The typical hiring range for this position is $22.67 - $26.02.

BSA Specialist II: The pay range for this position is $24.49 - $41.63. The typical hiring range for this position is $24.49 - $28.10. The incentive plan for this position is the Partnership Tier 1 Incentive plan. It is paid out quarterly with a 5% target payout.

Benefits

Employees will be eligible for our benefits package including medical, dental, and vision insurance, paid time off, retirement plans (401k with company match and Employee Stock Ownership Plan), gym membership reimbursement, discounts on our banking products, and more!