Karthik Balan

• Experienced in surveillance across all Equities and Derivatives products. Lead efforts to uncover and understand complex market abuse activities like wash trades, Ramping, Layering, front running, spoofing, and other manipulative behaviors, ensuring we keep the markets fair and transparent.
• Oversee and improve our surveillance tools, such as Actimize and Nasdaq Smarts, working to fine-tune alert settings so the team focuses on the right issues without being overwhelmed by false alarms.
• Collaborate closely with senior leaders to shape smarter, more efficient monitoring strategies that balance thoroughness with operational practicality.
• Take an active role in designing and refining our processes and procedures, making sure they meet both business needs and regulatory standards, while involving the right stakeholders along the way.
• Coach and support analysts, helping build their investigation skills and encouraging a team culture that values thoroughness and timely resolution.
• Ensure suspicious activity is escalated properly and backed by solid research, so the onshore team has everything they need to take the next steps confidently.
• Use market insights from Bloomberg and other sources to add depth to investigations, helping the team connect the dots with real market context.
• Keep leadership informed with clear, insightful reports on how our surveillance is performing and where emerging risks might be developing.
• Work across teams—from compliance to legal to business partners—to make sure our market abuse detection stays ahead of the curve and aligned with ever-evolving regulations.
• Continuously look for ways to improve how we detect and prevent market abuse, driven by data and a shared commitment to protecting investors and the integrity of the markets

• Review, analyze and investigate potential market abuse trading activity generated by the Actimize and Nasdaq Smarts monitoring system as a LEVEL 1 analyst
• Follow the relevant review process as defined in the operating guidelines
• Ensure that analysis results and relevant material are obtained and uploaded for record keeping purposes and alerts are concluded within the indicative target timelines without compromising on quality and completeness of the analysis
• Use Bloomberg to identify publicly available information related to transactions requiring further investigation
• Escalate suspicious trading activity deserving of further investigation to the on-shore team
• Ensure that investigator escalation is proper, timely, and supported by relevant information and due diligence search results
• Collaborate and work effectively with team members and other relevant stakeholders
• Prepare daily MIS and reports in a timely manner to keep stakeholders informed
• Ultimately, contribute to maintaining the integrity of the financial markets and protecting investors from fraudulent activities
• Communicate with internal and external stakeholders as necessary to address issues related to market abuse
• Continuously evaluate the effectiveness of the Actimize monitoring system and make recommendations for improvements as necessary
• Monitor key performance indicators related to market abuse detection and prevention and take corrective actions as necessary to address any deviations from established standards.

Risk Reporting and Centre of Excellence (August 2018-August 2019)

• Facilitated and implemented key risk control metrics for FX, listed derivatives, and central counterparty (CCP) clearance throughout operations by leading through analysis and providing reporting.
• Identified new areas of improvement by analyzing and collating the data used at all stages of the trade life cycle.
• Communicated and collaborated with traders for booking trades and updating risks into the system.
• Played a pivotal role in the preparation and detailed analysis of the regulatory survey reports for submission to Hong Kong Monetary Authority, Bank of England, US CFTC, EMIR, and US Federal Bank
• Managed key risk indicators and provided risk review reports to stakeholders to support risk mitigation efforts.
• Developed and implemented risk control metrics for FX, listed derivatives, and CCP
• Collaborated with cross-functional teams, including Technology, CTB partners, and traders, to ensure smooth trade flow and timely resolution of complex issues.
• Contribute to the development and implementation of new policies and procedures related to risk control & reporting
• Collaborate with other departments and teams to ensure effective risk management and reporting processes

Global Operation Positions Control (September 2019 – April 2020)

• Streamline daily tasks, including substantiation of equity, dividend, coupons, and commission income accrued against the expected PNL
• Monitored positions daily to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements and internal risk management policies
• Reconcile traders’ risk products/positions to firm books, records, investigation, and differences
• Monitor specific system error queues to ensure smooth trade flow
• Mitigate risks by posting trading PNL adjustment/manual journals and updating them in the system
• Maintained a high level of accuracy in substantiating equity, dividend, coupons, and commission income against the expected PNL
• Developed and maintained detailed procedures and documentation for position control processes, ensuring adherence to regulatory requirements.
• Participated in cross-functional projects and initiatives related to position control and risk management, providing subject matter expertise and insights.
• Conducted ad-hoc analysis of trading activity to identify potential areas of improvement for position control processes. Based on points list some skills as key word

• Achieved the company’s objectives by performing daily trade reconciliations of the record keeping system and global transaction system to ensure all trades recorded and updated at the end of the day.
• Migrated the standing settlement instruction process to a centralized project team of the company.
• Managed end-to-end processing of STP transactions on software systems for clients
• Set up securities and funds based on client requests and conducted detailed data research using providers such as Bloomberg, FTSE, and The London Stock Exchange
• Created daily MIS reports to track progress for clients and coordinated trade and cash block allocation with counterparties
• Oversaw BAU activities and ensured daily trade reconciliations between the record keeping system and global transaction system
• Successfully migrated the standing settlement instruction process to a centralized project team within the company
• Demonstrated expertise in managing reference data and maintaining accuracy and completeness of records
• Collaborated effectively with cross-functional teams, including technology and operations, to ensure timely and accurate processing of trades
• Maintained strong relationships with clients, responding promptly to inquiries and providing high-quality service
• Developed and implemented process improvements to enhance efficiency and reduce errors in trade processing and reference data management
• Assisted in training and mentoring new team members on trade processing and reference data management procedures
• Maintained a high level of attention to detail, ensuring accuracy and completeness of data and documentation
• Adapted quickly to changing priorities and worked effectively under pressure to meet deadlines Based on points list some skills as key words

• Actively participated in the development of the WoNoBo web application, focused on enabling users to track locations on a map, access information on important places, and utilize turn-by-turn navigation
• Collaborated with the development team to ensure the application was user-friendly, efficient, and reliable
• Utilized GIS and related software to identify and resolve potential problems in a proactive manner
• Provided technical support to users, resolving issues and answering questions in a timely and effective manner
• Maintained accurate documentation of software development processes, including testing procedures and bug reports
• Stayed up-to-date with the latest developments in GIS and related software to ensure the application was utilizing the most current technology available.