Associate - Screening Utility Ops

HSBC Group; Quezon City; On-site; PHP 420,000 - 640,000; Full time

Job summary

HSBC is seeking an Associate - Screening Utility Operations in the Philippines to support sanctions and AML screening for payments. You will review alerts, verify details, and escalate true matches or high-risk cases while maintaining strict audit trails.

The role emphasizes accuracy, speed, and regulatory understanding in a fast-paced banking environment. Ideal candidates bring a finance-related degree and familiarity with screening tools (Fircosoft, SafeWatch, LexisNexis, Actimize) along with

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in finance, Business, Accounting, Economics or related field.
• Prior experience in financial services, banking operations, or compliance is an advantage (0-2 years typically required).
• Experience in AML, Sanctions, KYC or Payment Operations is preferred but not mandatory for entry-level.
• Basic understanding of sanctions regulations (OFAC, UN, EU) and global AML frameworks.
• Familiarity with financial crime concepts such as PEP, watchlists, embargoes, and transaction monitoring.
• Knowledge of payment systems and messaging formats (e.g., SWIFT MT.MX) is a plus.
• Understanding of screening systems or case management tools (Fircosoft, SafeWatch, LexisNexis, Actimize) is beneficial.
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to interpret payment details and identify red flags.

Responsibilities

• Ensure compliance of all payments with regulatory requirements and global sanctions standards.
• Assess, review, and clear payment alerts triggered by sanctions and AML filters.
• Maintain integrity of payment flows with timely investigations and clear documentation.
• Collaborate with senior analysts, team leads, and compliance officers to mitigate risk.
• Conduct alert reviews and determine true vs. false matches.
• Escalate high-risk cases or gaps to senior staff.
• Maintain audit trails and ensure adherence to procedures and SLAs.
• Demonstrate understanding of OFAC, UN, EU regulatory frameworks.

Skills

Analytical thinking

Attention to detail

Communication skills

Time management

Adaptability

Integrity

Learning ability

Problem solving

Education

Bachelor's degree in finance, business, accounting, economics

Tools

Fircosoft

SafeWatch

LexisNexis

Actimize

MS Office

Job description

Some careers shine brighter than others.

If you're looking for a career that will help you stand out, join HSBC and fulfil your potential. Whether you want a career that could take you to the top, or simply take you in an exciting new direction, HSBC offers opportunities, support and rewards that will take you further.

HSBC is one of the largest banking and financial services organisations in the world, with operations in 62 countries and territories. We aim to be where the growth is, enabling businesses to thrive and economies to prosper, and, ultimately, helping people to fulfil their hopes and realise their ambitions.

We are currently seeking an experienced professional to join our team in the role of Associate - Screening Utility Operations

In this role, you will:

• Ensure that all payments processed through the organization comply with regulatory requirements, internal policies, ang global sanctions standards.
• Focus on assessing, reviewing, and clearing payment alerts triggered by sanctions, AML and compliance filters, thereby preventing prohibited or high-risk transactions from being executed.
• Responsible for maintaining the integrity of the bank’s payment flows by conducting timely and accurate investigations including analysing payment details, identifying potential sanctions hits, escalating suspicious cases, and ensuring alignment with established procedures.
• Collaborates closely with senior analysts, team leads, and compliance officers to ensure effective risk mitigation and operational efficiency.
• Requires strong attention to detail, sound judgment, and the ability to manage time-critical tasks in a fast-paced environment.
• Conduct timely and accurate review of alerts generated from payment screening systems e.g. Sanctions, AML, PEP, watchlist hits.
• Verify payment details, counterparties and narrative fields to assess whether alerts are true matches or false positives.
• Apply established procedures and decision matches when clearing or escalating alerts.
• Maintain high-quality documentation and audit trails for each case reviewed.
• Ensure all payments processed adhere to global sanctions regulations, AML requirements, and internal compliance policies.
• Identify potential red flags or suspicious indicators in payment instructions.
• Escalate true matches, high-risk cases, or procedural gaps to senior analysts or team leads.
• Demonstrate understanding of key regulatory frameworks (OFAC, UN, EU, local AML laws).
• Achieve and maintain required quality benchmarks for alert decisioning.
• Minimize operational errors by applying careful analysis and strong attention to detail.
• Participate in periodic quality reviews and take corrective actions to improve performance.
• Process alerts within agreed SLAs and ensure timely handling of time-sensitive payments.
• Effectively manage workload during high-volume periods.
• Prioritize tasks based on risk and urgency.
• Support calibration sessions, knowledge-sharing or refresher trainings to strengthen team capability.
• Seek guidance proactively to build deeper expertise in screening and compliance.
• Uphold the organization’s control standard by ensuring accurate documentation and audit readiness.

To be successful in this role, you should meet the following requirements:

• Bachelor's degree in finance, Business, Accounting, Economics or any related field.
• Prior experience in financial services, banking operations, or compliance is an advantage (0-2 years typically required).
• Experience in AML, Sanctions, KYC or Payment Operations is preferred but not mandatory for entry-level.
• Basic understanding of sanctions regulations e.g., OFAC, UN, EU and global AML frameworks.
• Familiarity with financial crime compliance concepts such as PEP, watchlists, embargoes, and transaction monitoring.
• Knowledge of payment systems and messaging formats e.g. SWIFT MT.MX, local payment rails is an advantage.
• Understanding of screening systems or case management tools e.g. Fircosoft, SafeWatch, LexisNexis, Actimize is beneficial.
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to interpret payment details and identify consistencies or red flags.
• High attention to detail to ensure accurate alert decisioning and compliance alignment.
• Good communication skills, especially in documentation and escalation notes.
• Time management abilities to meet SLAs in a high-volume, fast-paced environment.
• Critical thinking and sound judgment when determining true VS false matches.
• Proficient in MS Office applications - Excel, Outlook, Word
• Comfortable using case management tools, screening platforms, or workflow systems.
• Ability to quickly learn new compliance or operations systems.
• Integrity and ethical mindset, especially when handling sensitive payment data.
• Adaptability and willingness to learn in a constantly evolving regulatory environment.
• Resilience, particularly during high-volume periods or time-sensitive payment review tasks.

Candidate with less relevant experience or skills may be offered a lower Global Career Band than stated above.

Due to the urgent hiring need, candidates with immediate right to work locally and no relocation need will be prioritised.

You’ll achieve more when you join HSBC.

HSBC is committed to building a culture where all employees are valued, respected and opinions count. We take pride in providing a workplace that fosters continuous professional development, flexible working and opportunities to grow within an inclusive and diverse environment. Personal data held by the Bank relating to employment applications will be used in accordance with our Privacy Statement, which is available on our website.

Issued by HSBC HDPP