BSA Specialist

Altura Credit Union•Riverside, CA

20h

About The Position

The BSA Specialist helps carry out Altura Credit Union's Bank Secrecy Act/Anti-Money Laundering (BSA/AML) program. The role reviews monitoring alerts, investigates unusual activity, and completes required regulatory filings, managing an assigned caseload from start to finish. The specialist works closely with branch and department staff and serves as a real-time resource on account opening and due diligence. The role helps protect members from fraud, scams, and financial exploitation, working independently and alongside other BSA team members and management. The position also supports regulatory examinations and audits, contributes to department metrics and work activity logs, presents findings to leadership, provides administrative support for BSA systems, and gives feedback on monitoring rules to reduce false positives. The specialist maintains strict confidentiality of SAR information and stays current on BSA/AML, USA PATRIOT Act, and OFAC requirements. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change, or new ones may be assigned at any time, with or without notice.

Requirements

High school diploma or equivalent.
At least one year of financial institution experience, such as branch, operations, fraud, or compliance work.
Entry-level knowledge of BSA/AML, CIP, CDD, and OFAC laws and regulations; credit union or community bank operations; NCUA or comparable BSA expectations; AML considerations for share and loan relationships; and regulatory reporting requirements such as those of FinCEN and the NCUA.
Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, including entry-level math such as averages, percentages, ratios, and rates to compare transaction volume, spot unusual patterns, and interpret system outputs.
Proficiency with Microsoft Excel and case management platforms.
Excellent verbal, written, and presentation skills, including well-supported case documentation, explaining requirements to employees at all levels, and presenting findings clearly to leadership.
Strong interpersonal skills to work effectively with Altura Credit Union and affiliate staff and leadership.
Strong organizational and time-management skills to prioritize alerts, cases, and SAR filings under strict deadlines alongside inbound calls and tickets.
Ability to learn and apply regulatory requirements and make sound decisions after gathering facts and weighing alternatives, including recommendations that consider the member relationship and risk profile.

Nice To Haves

Associate’s degree, specialized coursework, or equivalent work experience.
Familiarity with AML monitoring applications and core systems.

Responsibilities

Review and investigate alerts for money laundering, terrorist financing, structuring, unlicensed money services business activity, internal and external fraud, and OFAC screening.
Analyze cash, check, ACH, wire, and loan activity against member history; determine whether activity is explained, a false positive, or warrants investigation; gather information from staff and members; and recommend account actions based on the member relationship and risk profile.
Document reviews and decisions to regulatory and internal standards.
Prepare and file Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) within FinCEN deadlines, including clear narratives and continuing activity reviews.
Review branch-initiated Currency Transaction Reports (CTRs) for accuracy, aggregate cash activity across branches and ATMs, file CTRs, and maintain the CTR exempt persons list, including exemption filings and annual reviews.
Process FinCEN 314(a) and 314(b) requests and maintain complete case files for examinations and audits.
Serve as a real-time resource for branch and department staff on account opening, Customer Identification Program (CIP), customer due diligence (CDD), and OFAC questions.
Review account documentation for member business accounts, trusts, estates, powers of attorney, and conservatorships; perform enhanced due diligence and periodic reviews on higher-risk members; and follow up with staff to keep member information and risk profiles current.
Answer inbound calls and work staff service tickets involving documentation reviews, CTRs, OFAC reviews, and unusual activity referrals.
Process elder and dependent adult financial abuse referrals, liaise with law enforcement on BSA-related matters, and coordinate with the Fraud and Disputes team on referrals involving disputed transactions.
Travel locally to branches and visit other departments to provide targeted BSA compliance training, including training on beneficial ownership certifications and occupation information.
Support regulatory examinations and audits, contribute to department metrics and work activity logs, present findings to leadership, provide administrative support for BSA systems, and give feedback on monitoring rules to reduce false positives.
Maintain strict confidentiality of SAR information and stay current on BSA/AML, USA PATRIOT Act, and OFAC requirements.