Trade Services Clerk (Mandarin Speaking)

London, United Kingdom | Posted on 13/11/2023

This is a permanent position working with a well-established bank in central London.

• Principal Responsibilities of the Role
• The role is within the Banks IBD Trade Finance Department and will be interchangeably responsible for, butnot limited to, the processing & booking of TF transactions, documentchecking, settlement of trade finance products & production of Operational MIS encompassing;
• Traditional documentarytrade structures (e. g. Import & Export LC, IRUs, LC settlements/collections, Guarantees/SBLCs)
• Open account structures ;(e. g. Pre & Post shipment Import /Export Finance, Trade Loans,
• Document checking and LCworkability
• The job holder will performtheir responsibilities to the required high level of quality & competencerequired by both external clients & internal stakeholders (TF RMs, CBD, FCPetc) in accordance with service level agreements (SLAs) as well as in strictaccordance with internal Policies & Procedures which will span across TF, FCP, CRD & other stakeholders requirements.
• The job holder will also ensure strong clientsatisfaction & service provided on a continual basis and will be the mainpoint of contact for Client’s counterpart Operational teams for all trxprocessing related matters & queries, whilst ensuring relevant RM & TFHead is kept fully in the loop with relevant Client queries/issues pro-activelyanticipated, internally escalated to RM/TF Head and satisfactorily addressed intimely manner with approval of the latter.

Client trxs TAT will be a key KPIfor the role as well as overall Client service satisfaction which will bemeasured based on client surveys directly.

• The job holder will be operationallyprocessing trade finance transactions within the required service levelagreements (SLAs) and to the required high standards.
• In addition, the role hasthe following responsibilities, including but not limited to;
• Ensurethat risks incidents are reported as per policies and procedure to the Operational Risk Function of the Bank
• Ensurethat customer queries and enquires are handled in accordance with the internalpolicies and procedures
• Suggestand implement improvements and enhancements to the current processes, systems, and workflows
• Review Clienttrx instructions received to ensure they are valid, workable and relevantregulations and internal Operational Policy and Procedures.

Trxs include; o All aspects of import transactions, e. g.

L/Cissuance, L/C acceptances, collections such as D/P, D/A, etc., scan document andsend to BPC for their checkingunder import L/Cs, effecting payment under L/Cs, D/P, D/A, etc., bankguarantees / standby L/Cs and import finance. o All aspects of export transactions e. g.

L/C advising; L/C confirmation, scan documents andsend to BPC for their checkingagainst export L/C negotiation, L/C reimbursement and collections under D/P, D/A, etc.

Double check the contents of delivery documentsbefore mailing. o Trade related finance solutions e. g.

Import/Export Open a/cfinance, Packing loans, factoring, bills discounting, forf a iting and funded or un-fundedrisk participation, Inv discounting

• Performrequired Trade Finance Compliance and due diligence checks in accordance withrelevant Policy & Procedures and alert RM/TF Head of relevant Red Flags
• Processingtransactions timely and accurately within agreed SLAs with Clients local Marketpractice once trxs TAT agreed with RM/TF Head
• Liaising with Issuing banks, beneficiaries, correspondents, treasury, credit, compliance on transactions as necessary toensure smooth processing and anticipate any bottlenecks proactively to findsolutions to address in conjunction with RM/TF Head
• Calculate accurately the fees and interests for therelevant transactions and track payment, chase up late payments and escalatenon-payments to RM/TF Head
• Liaise correspondence in connection with documentary import and export letters ofcredit for customers of the Bank in line with agreed procedures with BPC.
• Collateand check documents which have been processed by BPC to ensure Compliant with letters ofcredit terms and conditions.
• Proficient checking of payments with appropriate knowledgeof Swift rules after being made by BPC.
• Timelyfollow ing up ofirregularities with customers and BPC.
• Liaisewith clients on matters relating to L/C transactions togetherwith BPC.
• Assist RMs/ TF Head in carry ing out various trade finance related statistical reports for Management and Head Office.
• Funds positioning.
• Carry ing out periodicalaccounting reconciliation internally with Credit Administration, Corporate Banking and Financial Control departments and externally with BPC.
• Make proper registrations to the business asrequired by the procedure.
• Assist RMs / TF Head to monitorthe progress and ensure closure of transaction processing.
• Suggest the upgrading of the working procedure& practices to continually drive efficiencies and improve trxs TAT
• Filingand E-archiving of trxs-Create Electronic File at the time of Trxs initiation
• All the CDD and AML checking in trade services andother products lines as required by the Bank’s policy.
• Keep all AML check evidences for audit trailpurpose. Must report / elevate to MLRO for potential positive hit orsuspicious transactions in accordance to the Bank’s AML policy.
• Where required, provide support to colleaguesacross the Trade Finance function as needed

Requirements

Relevant Technical Skills &Experience Required

• Ø Strong Trade Finance Operations skills& knowledge - minimum of 2 years’ experience in Banking/Financial Servicesin Trade Finance Operations/Middle Office area.
• Managing an TF Ops team wouldbe advantageous
• Ø Strong practical processing and trxsbooking experience of Trade Finance products and ability to process independently– incl.

Import and Export LCs & Discounting, Transferable LCs, IRUs, Assignmentof proceeds, Collections, Avalized bills, Guarantees/SBLCs, Open accountstructures, LC settlements and Document Checking

• Ø Good knowledge of SWIFT & ICC Rulesincl. UCP 600, ISBP98, URR 725, URDG
• Ø Strong working knowledge of UK Trade Finance Compliance Regulations and strong practical knowledge & applicationof TF trxs internal controls from an AML, Compliance & Regulatoryperspective
• Ø Strong demonstrable experience ofinterpretation & application of the above in practice
• Ø Strong experience of Trade Finance Trxs Processing Platforms and detailed end to end Trxs Booking & Operationalprocedures and related internal compliance & business controls

Interpersonal & Business Skills

• Ø Proactive, Client centric and business growth mindset
• Ø Strong analytical reasoning skills
• Ø Excellentattention to detail, quality and accuracy
• Ø Adaptabilityto change in work flows & priorities
• Ø Analysis, planning and organizing
• Ø Teamwork, collaboration and adaptability to changing priorities
• Ø Strong& clear verbal and written communication incl. client facing
• Ø Strong drive for continuous improvement with the ability to think and challenge the status-quoto suggest, develop & implement Operational efficiencies
• Ø Demonstratedability to take initiative & work effectively in a team-oriented environment
• Ø Provenrecord of collaborating with colleagues across geographic and functionalboundaries
• Ø Strong& clear verbal and written communication incl. client facing
• Ø Fluencyin written and spoken English - Fluency in Mandarin would be highlyadvantageous
• Ø Strongwith MS Excel (formulas, VLOOKUP, and pivot tables), MS Power Point (able tocreate a presentation documents), MS Word
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