Estee Chua

Correspondent Banking & Financial Institutions

• Nostro/Vostro Account Management
  Oversaw the opening and closing of Nostro and Vostro accounts, ensuring operational efficiency and full compliance with internal controls and financial regulations.
• FI Relationship Management
  Built and maintained reciprocal business relationships with global financial institutions to facilitate smooth and effective correspondent banking services.
• SWIFT RMA Administration
  Managed SWIFT Relationship Management Application (RMA), ensuring secure interbank communication and handling all related correspondences.
• Correspondent Banking Operations
  Delivered a comprehensive suite of services to partner institutions, including account services, credit facilities, and operational support for cross-border transactions.
• FI Product Facilitation
  Supported and coordinated structured trade and FI-related activities such as forfaiting, financial institution loans, account financing, FI deposits, and trade refinancing.
• AML/KYC Compliance & Onboarding
  Led end-to-end onboarding for financial institutions, including document collection, customer due diligence, and name screening via World-Check and Dow Jones systems.
• Ongoing Due Diligence & Compliance Reviews
  Conducted regular and ad-hoc due diligence on financial institution clients, addressed queries from correspondent banks, and ensured ongoing adherence to regulatory standards.
• Regulatory & Management Reporting
  Prepared and submitted various internal and external reports, including:
  Head Office (HO) reporting
  MAS (Monetary Authority of Singapore) regulatory requests
  Ad-hoc compliance reports
  Responded to internal and external audit information requests in a timely and accurate manner.
• Policy & Procedure Development
  Actively participated in the drafting and revision of departmental policies and operational procedures to align with evolving regulatory frameworks and best practices.

Processing Trade Transactions

• Handle end-to-end processing of trade finance instruments such as:
  Letters of Credit (LCs) – issuance, advising, amendments, confirmation, and negotiation.
  Bank Guarantees – issuance and claim handling.
  Bills for Collection – documents against acceptance (D/A) and documents against payment (D/P).
  Documentary Collections and Inward/Outward Bills.

2. Risk Management & Compliance

• Ensure all trade transactions comply with:
  AML/KYC regulations
  Sanctions screening
  UCP 600, ISBP (ICC rules)
• Monitor trade limits, country risk, and counterparty exposure.
• Detect and report suspicious trade transactions or fraud indicators.

3. Operational Tasks

• Check and verify trade documents (invoice, packing list, transport documents).
• Liaise with internal departments (relationship managers, compliance, risk control).
• Coordinate with counterparties, correspondent banks, and shipping companies.

5. Financing & Liquidity Support

• Facilitate pre-shipment and post-shipment finance, including:
  Import/export financing
  Trust receipt loans (TR)
  Packing credit
  Trade refinancing
• Monitor loan maturity and repayment schedules.

5. System & Reporting

• Input trade transactions into the bank’s trade finance system.
• Generate reports for:
  Regulatory authorities (MAS)
  Internal control and audit teams
  Management reporting (e.g., trade volumes, risk exposure)
• HO ad-hoc RFI reporting

1. Processing Trade Transactions

• Handle end-to-end processing of trade finance instruments such as:
  Letters of Credit (LCs) – issuance, advising, amendments, confirmation, and negotiation.
  Bank Guarantees – issuance and claim handling.
  Bills for Collection – documents against acceptance (D/A) and documents against payment (D/P).
  Documentary Collections and Inward/Outward Bills.

2. Risk Management & Compliance

• Ensure all trade transactions comply with:
  AML/KYC regulations
  Sanctions screening
  UCP 600, ISBP (ICC rules)

3. Operational Tasks

• Check and verify trade documents (invoice, packing list, transport documents).
• Liaise with internal departments (relationship managers, compliance, operations).
• Coordinate with counterparties, correspondent banks, and shipping companies.

4. Financing & Liquidity Support
Trust receipt loans (TR)
Trade refinancing

• Monitor loan maturity and repayment schedules.

5. System & Reporting

• Input trade transactions into the bank’s trade finance system.