Senior Client Onboarding, KYC & KYT Officer

Location: Zürich

Excited to grow your career?

BBVA is a global company with more than 160 years of history that operates in more than 25 countries where we serve more than 80 million customers. We are more than 121,000 professionals working in multidisciplinary teams with profiles as diverse as financiers, legal experts, data scientists, developers, engineers and designers.

At BBVA we are leading the transformation of banking worldwide, united in pursuing our goal of supporting your drive to go further. Firmly focused on the future, our on-going digital transformation is already producing disruptive innovations that power our vision of banking. Building on 160 years of history we know the importance of constant development, which is why we place so much confidence in the collaborative working environment that enables our people to grow and excel.

For over 50 years, BBVA in Switzerland has been helping clients manage their wealth with a global outlook, Swiss precision, and a philosophy that blends tradition with innovation. From Zurich to the world, we provide tailored solutions for those who value both strategy and trust.

Yet, our greatest strength lies in our people: an international, diverse, and highly skilled team that combines financial expertise with a digital mindset and innovative spirit. Continuous learning, cross-cultural collaboration, and career growth that makes a real impact in our clients’ lives drive everything we do, shaping both the way we work and the opportunities we create for our team.

Joining BBVA in Switzerland means being part of a global bank, working on pioneering projects in private and digital banking, and growing within a culture that listens, evolves, and strives to make a difference.

BBVA is a Spanish bank with its Swiss offices located in Zürich About the job:

Functions (duties and responsibilities)
Review and approve onboarding files for individuals and legal entities, including complex and high-risk structures, ensuring completeness, accuracy and compliance with CDB 20, FINMA expectations and internal directives/guidelines.

Review FATCA, QI and CDB formalities for consistency with CRS/AEI formalities, identifying inconsistencies and escalating material issues where required.

Control, validate and approve captured customer data and account documentation, ensuring data quality, traceability and adequate audit trail.

Capture, assess and follow up on deficiencies detected during onboarding, periodic reviews and client lifecycle management processes.

Challenge Front Office on documentation quality, missing information, risk assessments, economic rationale, transactional rationale and justification of complex client structures when required.

Oversee and perform client onboarding, KYC due diligence and periodic review processes, including enhanced due diligence, AML-related clarifications, PEP assessments and other higher-risk factors.

Perform and review periodic KYC reviews for existing client relationships, ensuring that client information, risk indicators, Source of Wealth, Source of Funds, expected account activity and transactional profile remain complete, consistent and up to date.

Apply strong Know Your Transaction (KYT) knowledge to assess transactional behaviour, expected account activity, transactional rationale and potential inconsistencies with the client profile, escalating unusual or unexplained activity where appropriate.

Perform complex onboarding and periodic review assessments for high-risk clients, including PEPs, complex ownership structures, trusts, foundations, holding companies, cross-border relationships, EAMs and other sophisticated private banking structures.

Assess Source of Wealth and Source of Funds information and challenge the adequacy, plausibility and evidential quality of supporting documentation where necessary.

Provide expert advice and guidance to the Front Office on onboarding, KYC, KYT, AML, CDB, FATCA, CRS/AEI and related client lifecycle topics.

Act as subject matter expert for onboarding, KYC, KYT and AML requirements within the first line of defence.

Review and validate work performed by junior onboarding team members, ensuring consistency of standards, risk-based judgement and quality of execution.

Provide coaching and training to onboarding specialists and Front Office teams on documentation standards, KYC quality, KYT awareness, periodic review expectations and risk-based judgement.

Lead initiatives with Legal, Compliance, Risk and Front Office management to strengthen onboarding, KYC, KYT and periodic review controls, streamline procedures and improve operational efficiency.

Communicate and explain complex documentary, KYC, KYT and AML matters to relevant stakeholders, including senior management of the Bank.

Coordinate and support audit fieldwork, including preparing files, addressing auditor queries and ensuring remediation actions are adequately evidenced.

Prepare management information, quality indicators and KPIs related to onboarding and periodic review volumes,…