Vinod Kumar Pola

Cash Management Services

A financial professional with over 11 years of experience in Cash Management Services, responsible for processing and verifying cash-based transactions for Merrill Lynch clients. This includes ensuring the seamless execution of both incoming and outgoing transfers without incident. The CMS team monitors incoming deposits and wire transfers across multiple suspense accounts, reconciling and repairing them to ensure accurate crediting to client accounts. Additionally, the team assists in resolving issues flagged by the transfer system, promptly responding to client inquiries, and ensuring adherence to regulatory compliance.

The team manages transactions in multiple currencies, including USD, CAD, and MXN. Depending on the currency, we collaborate with various banks, including Citibank, Bank of America London, RBC, and Bank of America New York, to facilitate international and global private client wire transfers.

Key Activities

• Ensure all the incoming wires are posted into clients account on the same day without delay.
• Investigating and clearing Nostro breaks.
• Sending and receiving swift message and verify accordingly in timely manner.
• Verifying Journal entries for funding/clearing internal breaks processed by the team members.

Key Deliverables:

• Presenting monthly Dash Board of Cash Management Services to onshore LOB to ensure Client Satisfaction and actively engage in relationship Management with the onshore counterparts.
• Handle escalations and difficult client issues.
• Assisted senior leadership team in Creating Questionnaire to check team members process knowledge on BI annually basis via KAT application.
• Reviewing and updating SOPs on BI yearly basis.
• Conducting quarterly brainstorming sessions with team members for process improvisation and motivate to implement these ideas in reality across the Business.

GCSO – Global custody and securities operations

Process provides services for safekeeping of client’s securities and cash as per instructions provided by a group of administrators (Who handles client securities).

Key Deliverables:

• Postings of incoming wires through work station and Global plus.
• Enabling the posting of funds in the easiest and timely manner.
• Answering the Queries of admins on timely manner.
• Delay in posting of wires may have financial impact for clients.
• Wires should be posted as soon as they received on same day.

MONEY MARKET

Deals for bank and branches are settled as of value date and within currency cutoff. Clients are required to provide complete settlement instructions to Bank of America in timely manner in order to complete settle on value date. Settlement instructions can be provided in various ways including swifts and Emails.

Key Deliverables:

• Manage queues effectively.
• Partner closely with different teams and other internal stake holders to resolve the unexplained breaks.
• Respond on Emails quires from onshore and other Departments.
• Interact with business partners and units on day-to-day functionalities.
• Manage reporting activities within the deadline.

CORE COMPETENCIES

Operations Management

• Mapping clients’ requirements and coordinating in developing and implementing processes in line with pre-set guidelines; Monitoring the overall functioning of processes, identifying improvement areas and implementing adequate measures to maximize customer satisfaction level.
• Preparing and publishing monthly KPI, KRI metrics reports & various other critical reports like Risk Review, Employee utilization and Volume Utilization with a view to apprise management of the process operations and assist in critical decision-making process.
• Managing service operations for rendering and achieving quality services; providing first line client support by answering queries & resolving their issues, ensuring minimum TAT; assessing the customer feedback, evaluating areas of improvements & providing critical feedback to the associates on improvements and achieving higher customer satisfaction metrics.

SLA Management

• Setting out quality standards for various operational areas, ensuring a high-quality customer experience, while adhering to the SLAs and work processes.
• Creating awareness for driving the projects and process improvement strategy & methodology, ensuring maximum operational efficiency.
• Conducting root-cause analysis and taking preventive measures for any escalations.

Team Management

• Actively engrossed in training and monitoring performance of the team members for maintaining excellence in the service operations .
• Creating and fostering a healthy environment which facilitates high performance of team members and accomplishments of organizational goals.

Achievements & Contributions

• Managed BCP (Business Continuity Plan) testing in 2023 and 2024 for both Hyderabad and GIFT (Gandhinagar) locations.
• 1 FTE saved in Cash Management Services by doing cross training between 2 teams.
• Successfully migrated CMS mailbox to enhanced application called eTask without any issues for better and fast allocation of emails and reduced TAT.
• Received awards from Onshore branch team for assisting in avoiding client complaints and quick resolution of queries.
• Certification of Risk Rider having participated in various risk management trainings and projects has helped in enhancing fundamentals of operational risk management.
• Completed various projects in Risk Mitigation to safe guard the process.
• I am also selected by the Leadership Management as SPOC for SOKC (Process Updates).
• Received multiple within the organization like Bronze, Silver and Gold for Best process performances and playing multiple roles.