Rick Somerset-Williams

Rick has developed significant industry expertise, enabling him to support clients on all aspects of financial crime compliance. His career includes senior leadership roles with a proven ability to deliver results within complex financial environments.

Rick has significant operational leadership experience, with accountability for process execution, material outsourcing, global KYC remediation programs, risk management, operating model design, and technology-driven transformation programs.

Rick’s professional experience includes:

• Responsible for the “Banking as a Service” client portfolio for a FinTech, clearing bank assessing operating models, policies, procedures, and control environments, ensuring outsourced services operate within risk appetite thresholds.
• Leading the transformation of a KYC process at a top-tier bank by eliminating paper-based processing, standardizing KYC operating procedures, and consistently delivering high-quality outcomes.
• Steering global Correspondent Banking CDD and Corporate KYC functions across major banks in the Americas, Europe, MENA, and Asia, successfully executing multiple KYC remediation programs.
• Designing and implementing a new KYC operating model at a leading bank, establishing a multi-lingual operational hub for international CDD activities and an outsourced CDD utility, resulting in a 25% reduction in operating costs.
• Engaging with regulators, meeting commitments under monitorship programs, and delivering strategic responses for board-level stakeholders.
• Designed and implemented a robust regulatory compliance program for a global client, aimed at ensuring full compliance with international regulations and enhancing the client’s ability to handle complex compliance challenges.
• Leading the redesign and securing regulatory approval for a comprehensive KYC remediation program at a European bank, addressing intricate requirements and bolstering compliance effectiveness.
• Developing a specialized KYC function for high-risk clients at a leading European bank, improving the bank’s capacity to detect, manage, and mitigate risks associated with its highest-risk client profiles.
• Served as the interim global head of customer due diligence for a major European bank for six months, enhancing transparency and accountability regarding risks and controls, introduced advanced key risk indicators (KRIs) to improve visibility into operational performance, and completed a comprehensive review to simplify the client’s regulatory commitments.