AVP, Client Onboarding Facilitation Group

Headquartered in Tokyo, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) is a leading global financial institution and a core member of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (SMBC Group). Built upon our rich Japanese heritage since 1876, we put our customers first and provide seamless access to, from and within the Asia Pacific region. SMBC is one of the largest Japanese banks by assets and maintain strong credit ratings across our global integrated network. We work closely as one SMBC Group to offer personal, corporate and investment banking services to meet the needs of our customers.

With sustainability embedded within our strategy and operations, we are committed to creating a society in which today’s generation can enjoy economic prosperity and well-being, and pass it on to future generations.

Role Overview

The AVP in COFG plays a client-facing facilitation role across the end-to-end onboarding journey, with a clear focus on delivering a smooth client experience, reducing onboarding lead time, and ensuring proactive, prompt follow-up with clients and internal stakeholders. The role must apply acquired KYC knowledge across Financial Institutions (FIs), Non-Bank Financial Institutions (NBFIs), and Corporate Clients to guide documentation readiness, resolve bottlenecks early, and maintain momentum from mandate through account/service activation.

Key Competencies

• KYC Knowledge Across Client Segments – Applies practical KYC knowledge for FI, NBFI and Corporate clients, including documentation expectations, ownership structures, CDD/EDD considerations, sanctions/tax touchpoints and regulatory onboarding requirements.
• Client-Centric Mindset – Creates a smooth and professional client journey by anticipating documentation gaps, simplifying handoffs and addressing queries proactively.
• Proactive Ownership & Prompt Follow-up – Drives timely closure of onboarding actions through disciplined tracking, early escalation, and clear accountability across parties.
• Coordination & Communication – Engages RMs, product teams, Legal, Compliance, Operations, Credit, Risk and Technology to remove blockers and align next steps.
• Execution Excellence – Maintains rigor in documentation review, pipeline tracking, SLA/KPI monitoring and onboarding readiness checks.
• Process Improvement – Identifies root causes of delays, supports workflow improvements, and contributes to client journey mapping and VOC initiatives.
• Risk & Control Awareness – Supports onboarding controls, regulatory reporting, audit reviews and issue remediation activities while maintaining high quality standards.

Key Responsibilities

• Strategic Leadership & Oversight

• Support onboarding strategy and execution for FI, NBFI and Corporate clients across Asia-Pacific, ensuring COFG facilitation is aligned with business priorities and regulatory expectations.
• Maintain visibility on onboarding pipelines, case ageing, service activation status and critical dependencies to reduce lead time and prevent avoidable delays.
• Provide concise updates to management on key cases, bottlenecks, risk themes and actions required to sustain onboarding momentum.

• Client Engagement & Handholding

• Serve as a client-facing coordination point throughout the onboarding journey, helping clients understand documentation requirements, timelines and pending actions.
• Drive a smooth client experience through proactive outreach, prompt responses, clear next-step communication and early identification of documentation gaps.
• Coordinate client readiness activities, including documentation guidance, training coordination and case-specific follow-up with Front Office and product teams.

• Cross-Functional Coordination

• Orchestrate coordination across Relationship Managers, product teams, Legal, Compliance, Operations (BCAPD-FCMO CDD/KYC, BCAPD-DG and BCAPD-CMLG), Credit, Risk and Technology.
• Chair or support regular case review calls for high-value, complex or ageing onboarding cases, ensuring blockers are logged, ownership is clear and escalation paths are activated promptly.
• Partner with internal stakeholders to resolve bottlenecks, minimise rework and maintain a consistent, transparent onboarding experience for clients.

• Regulatory Compliance & Risk Governance

• Apply KYC and onboarding knowledge across FI, NBFI and Corporate client types while ensuring adherence to MAS guidelines, AML/KYC standards, sanctions, tax documentation and cross-border onboarding requirements.
• Ensure onboarding files and documentation flows support internal controls, quality assurance, issue remediation, audit readiness and regulatory reporting expectations.
• Escalate risk, control or documentation concerns early, with clear facts, impact and recommended next actions.

• Process Optimization & Transformation

• Contribute to process improvements, workflow enhancements, automation and digitisation initiatives that reduce onboarding lead time and improve the client journey.
• Support dashboard reporting, SLA/KPI tracking and pipeline transparency to enable data-driven prioritisation and management oversight.
• Participate in strategic projects that transform onboarding delivery, including client journey mapping, VOC initiatives, dynamic checklists and other simplification efforts.

Qualifications & Experience

• At least 4–7 years of experience in banking, client onboarding, KYC/CDD operations, client service, implementation or related control functions.
• Acquired and demonstrated KYC knowledge for FI, NBFI and Corporate clients, with the ability to translate requirements into clear client and stakeholder guidance.
• Strong understanding of onboarding lifecycle, documentation management, case facilitation, stakeholder coordination and escalation management.
• Strong organisational, communication and follow-up skills, with a proactive mindset and ability to operate under time-sensitive onboarding priorities.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office tools; experience with onboarding workflow systems, dashboards or case trackers is advantageous.