If you are interested in this candidate, please contact Richard Lalchan via email rlalchan@cerfinancial.co.uk or call on 0207 626 6065.

00206179

PROFILE:

Operational Risk and Internal Audit expert. A Big 4 trained Chartered Accountant (FCA), a Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) and a Financial Risk Manager (FRM). He has over 25 years of experience in financial services. Experience in Retail, Corporate and Investment banking. Also, experience in insurance, fintech and asset management. He was Head of Internal Audit for over 15 years in small UK banks before transferring to Risk Management, where he was employed with FTCs.

He has extensive experience dealing with boards, and he works in a consultative manner. Builds close and constructive working relationships with all key stakeholders and, acting in an advisory capacity, helps improve the effectiveness and efficiency of internal controls and business processes. Provides assurance to the board and senior management that risks have been identified and mitigated and that regulations are being complied with.

CAREER HISTORY:

FEBRUARY 2025 – PRESENT (FTC)

BANKING

OPERATIONAL RISK SENIOR MANAGER

Project to upgrade the Bank’s Register, RCSAs and ERM methodology, which was a result of an Internal Audit. Other tasks:

• Writing and implementing an EUDA/EUC policy.
• Updating the Operational Risk Policies and KRIs.
• Thematic Review on modelling risk with Treasury and Finance.
• Thematic Review on Operational Resilience.
• Drafting the Solvent Exit Analysis.
• Updating the Risks and Controls analysis in the ICAAP document.

JULY 2023 – SEPTEMBER 2024 (FTC)

BANKING

OPERATIONAL CONTROLS MANAGER (CIB UK FINANCE)

Project to upgrade the monitoring and reporting to management on the operational risks arising from Finance processes. The project, which was a result of an Internal Audit finding, encompassed improving the monitoring of all operational risks and, while working with key stakeholders, ensuring a high quality of reliable assessment and reporting. In detail:

• Collate data and report on KRIs.
• Identification and self-assessment of operational risk and controls.
• Updating the RCSA as part of the annual review cycle.
• Quantification of potential operational risk incidents and follow-up of action plans.
• Identification of incidents and review of action plans.
• Carry out training and communications on improvements to the Risk Management system.
• Monitor the implementation of self-identified action plans.
• Follow up on the progress toward the closure of agreed-upon audit recommendations.
• Take part in the permanent control governance bodies, to present internal control issues.
• Support the bank’s supplier management framework.

AUGUST 2018 – APRIL 2023

BANKING

HEAD OF INTERNAL AUDIT (SMF5)

Retail / Commercial Bank, which specialised in BTL mortgages. He reported to the chair of the audit committee with a dotted line to the CEO. He acted as the Board’s trusted advisor, provided assurance to executive management that controls and processes were operating as required and acted as a consultant to middle management where he recommended improvements. Provided assurance to the Board through regular audit reports, the annual governance statement and horizon scanning to ensure that audit plans remained fit for purpose. He had one auditor reporting directly to him. Audits carried out included the following end-to-end reviews:

• Credit/Mortgages/Lending including BTL mortgages (front to back) - examined loan documentation, loan monitoring and collateral. The Credits were primarily BTL and commercial loans. The processes were heavily paper-based, and he recommended more automation, which benefited the Bank during the lockdown. Ensure compliance with regulations and policies. Ensured credit exposures were assessed, mitigated, and aligned with regulatory requirements and the RAS. Reviewed the credit analysis and stress testing.
• Review of Non-Regulated BTL Portfolios (4 or more BTL properties) to ensure compliance with best practice and policies.
• Regulatory compliance of BTL mortgages. Ensured that bank lent responsibly, information to customers was clear, fair and not misleading, and customers were treated fairly.
• Review of property valuations for mortgages to ensure that they were made in accordance with regulatory requirements under BIPRU, the Prudential sourcebook for Banks, Building Societies and Investment Firms.
• Trade Finance (including Issuing and Advising of Letters of Credit, back-to-back LCs and Standby LCs). Examined compliance with UCP 600.
• Treasury (including cash and liquidity management) - Improved the Asset & Liability Management documentation.
• Capital and liquidity - Verified ICAAP, ILAAP which included ensuring that the stress-testing and risk scenarios were fit for purpose.
• Prudential supervisory reporting - Reviewed key reports/statistics such as Liquidity Coverage Ratio (LCR), Net Stable Funding Ratio (NSFR), PRA 110 reports.
• Interest Rate Risk in the Banking Book (‘IRRBB’, comprising net interest income (NII) sensitivity and economic value of equity (EVE) Sensitivity).
• Compliance - Ensured the Bank complied with AML, TCF, Anti-bribery and corruption, GDPR and PSD2 regulations.
• Risk Management - Substantiated that the risk assessments, measurement and monitoring complied with the Bank’s risk appetite.
• Information Security / IT - Checked that the Information Security Management System was compliant with ISO 27001.
• Operational Resilience including Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery Plans.
• Culture - Transformed the Bank’s initial culture and “the tone from the top” into a strong risk and controls, regulation-conscious and professionally aware culture.
• Diversity, Equality, & Inclusion, where it was recommended recruiting more females to senior positions.
• Operational Resilience, where it was found that the mapping of important business processes required a great deal of work.

Assisted Compliance with the implementation of an s166 Remediation Plan on AML. Re-engineering of the Internal Audit (IA) department, which included implementing a new IA system, drafting a new manual and templates and updating all processes. As part of another s166 review of Risk Management, he was heavily involved in a project that selected, implemented, and configured a new Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) system for the Bank. The s166 concentrated primarily on Operational Risk but included improving the Credit Risk process, such as improving the Risk Reports and metrics. The s166 report had 116 recommendations and required an entire overall of the Bank’s entire Risk Management processes (RCSA, Incident Reporting, Skills Training, KRI, Risk Reports). He ensured that the Bank remained aligned with current regulatory requirements and best practices. He ensured that the risk registers and reporting were adequate. In particular, he ensured that:

• RCSAs were drafted across the entire business including full end-to-end transaction reviews.
• Training on the new risk system was adequate.
• The risk reports and the KRIs were appropriate and correct.
• The new ERM system adequately recorded and reported crystalised and non-crystalline risks
• The new risk system adequately recorded risk events, root cause analysis was carried out, and ensured that the recommendations were implemented.

SEPTEMBER 2016 – NOVEMBER 2017

FINTECH

GLOBAL HEAD OF INTERNAL AUDIT

High-growth (7th place in the FT Top 1,000 Fastest-Growing European Companies), Australian Fintech company that operated in UK, Hong Kong, Australia and USA, which was authorised by the FCA as an Electronic Money Issuer (EMI).

JUNE 2015 – JULY 2016

BANKING

HEAD OF INTERNAL AUDIT

The Bank was the UK subsidiary, which carried out BTL mortgages and Retail Banking, Corporate / Commercial Banking, Trade Finance, Wholesale Banking and Treasury Services. Following an FCA fine relating to the Bank’s Internal Audit function, He was appointed in order to “review and overhaul all aspects of the Internal Audit process and methodologies so as to bring the Bank’s approach in line with industry best practice and guidance”.

DECEMBER 2007- JANUARY 2015

BANKING

HEAD OF INTERNAL AUDIT

A new “Start-up”. UK subsidiary of a large Nigerian bank. The bank concentrated on BTL mortgages but also carried out Retail Banking (including mortgages), Corporate / Commercial Banking, Trade Finance, Wholesale Banking, Current and Saving Accounts (CASA) and Treasury Services. When he joined the bank, it had a staff of 7 and I was involved in setting up the bank and the IA department.

For the main product, BTL Mortgages, he carried out front to back audits of loan documentation, loan monitoring and collateral. Other than the end-to-end audits for the above products, he reviewed the following projects:

• Ensuring that the new processes and written procedures were fit for purpose.
• Financial Crime – following an FSA fine for poor AML controls, he ensured that systems and controls combating financial crime were robust and in line with regulations.
• Set up an Internal Audit Department - Transformed the Department from the Nigerian (Internal Control) model, into a “state of the art” audit, independent, risk-based, audit department that was used as a role model for the entire group. Established and developed the Internal Audit processes according to the Standards of the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) and best practice. This involved writing the audit methodology, drafting templates, hiring staff, selecting and implementing new audit software and training staff.
• Involved in the project to establish anti-fraud controls for the Bank’s debit card and
• Involved in the project to implement an online bank statements system that replaced the paper-based system that was sent by post.

2006 - 2007

INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT

BUSINESS CONTROLS CONSULTANT

Investment management company listed on the London Stock Exchange. It is the world’s largest publicly traded hedge fund, reporting $178.2 billion in funds under management as of June 2024.

Audits included verifying compliance with relevant regulations, such as CASS (FCA Client Assets Sourcebook), assessing the accuracy of the investment valuations, verifying the Economic Capital Model, and examining trade confirmations and custodian statements.

2002 - 2005

FINANCIAL SERVICES

CAPITAL MARKETS AUDITOR

Investment Bank. Audited all the main products related to Wholesale Banking, such as Lending, Fixed Income & Currencies (FIC), Equity, Interest Rate Futures, Swaps, FX, Repos, Stock/Borrow/Lend and vanilla and exotic options. This included Loan Admin, Credit & Counterparty Risk, Operations, Settlements, Cash/Non-cash reconciliations and Financial Markets back-office processes. Audits covered the Front Office, Risk Management, Back Office and all aspects of the Trade Life Cycle. Performed J-SOX.

Also, used data analytics techniques and carried out Model Validations for:

• Basle Market Risk Capital Adequacy model (so that the firm may obtain a model waiver). Used the Monte Carlo method; and
• Valuation of options on interest rate and bond futures for IPV and market risk valuation.
• Validated the Economic Capital Model used to calculate the Operational Risk Capital Adequacy charge for Basel II.

1999 - 2002

FINANCIAL SERVICES

AUDIT MANAGER

Led a team of six in the Banking sector.

Two years in Central Europe (i.e. Romania, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Macedonia, Georgia). Carried out the following Management Consultancy projects:

• Updated the Accounting Policies and Procedures of the Central Bank of Lithuania so that they met the requirements of the ECB and International Accounting Standards, including IAS 39.
• Established a Controlled Self-Assessment (CSA) process in the Central Bank of Lithuania.
• Established a new, risk-based methodology in the Internal Audit Department of the Central Bank of Lithuania.

1996 - 1998

FINANCIAL SERVICES AND INSURANCE

INTERNAL AUDITOR

Carried out audits in financial services and general and life insurance. Reviewed controls related to the implementation of a Workflow System and carried out Fraud investigations.

EDUCATION:

Membership of Professional Bodies

• Chartered Accountant (FCA), Institute of Chartered Accountants
• Certified Internal Auditor (CIA), Chartered Institute of Internal Auditors (CIIA).
• Financial Risk Manager (FRM), - Global Association of Risk Professionals (GARP).
• AICA, Associate member of the International Compliance Association (ICA).

Professional Certificates

• Certificate in International Treasury Management (CertITM), Association of Corporate Treasures (ACT).
• Certificate in Quantitative Finance (CQF) from CQF Institute.
• IIA Diploma, Chartered Institute of Internal Auditors (CIIA).
• Advanced Certificate in AML, International Compliance Association (ICA).
• Specialist Certificate in Trade based AML, International Compliance Association (ICA).
• Financial Derivatives (ACSI), Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment (CISI).

Academic

• MSc, Mathematics, College | University
• BSc, Mathematics & Physics (First Class Honours), College | University

Current Studies

• International Certificate in Financial Services Risk Management (IRMCert), Institute of Risk Management (IRM). This is an entry requirement for the International Diploma.

OTHER SHORT TERM / FIXED TERM CONTRACT ROLES:

• Spread betting company

Nov 2017

-

Jan 2018

• Custodian Bank / Investment Management

Oct 2005

-

Mar 2006

• Investment Bank

Aug 2005

-

Sept 2005

• Investment Bank

Feb 2005

-

May 2005

• Professional Services

Aug 1998

-

Nov 1998

References Available Upon Request

If you are interested in this candidate, please contact Richard Lalchan via email rlalchan@cerfinancial.co.uk or call on 0207 626 6065.

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