Farah Ramli

• Ensure Compliance with regulations issued by Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) and the Credit Consumer Oversight Board (CCOB)
• Serve as the Primary Liaison between the company and regulators, maintaining strong relationships and ensuring smooth communication
• Manage the Licensing Process from application through assessment to the launch of regulated products
• Develop and Implement a Compliance Risk Management Framework, focusing on the identification, assessment, and mitigation of risks
• Oversee the AML Program to ensure full compliance with the Anti-Money Laundering Act 2001 (AMLA)
• Establish and manage the Governance Framework, ensuring robust compliance and risk controls
• Advise the Board and internal stakeholders on compliance risks and ensures regular reporting to support effective oversight
• Actively participated in industry committees or associations for better understanding of trends affecting peers in similar roles.
• Improved cross-functional collaboration with key stakeholders, fostering a culture of compliance throughout the organization.
• Provided expert guidance on complex compliance issues, enabling informed decision-making at the executive level.
• Products and Regulators Under Purview:

i) Merchant Acquiring Service, e-Money Issuance - Bank Negara Malaysia;

ii)Buy-Now-Pay-Later - Credit Consumer Oversight Board

• Achievements:

i) Obtained approval-in-principal from Bank Negara Malaysia;

ii) Led consultation efforts with Credit Consumer Oversight Board for the launch of Buy Now Pay Later

iii) Evaluated emerging risks in the industry to proactively address potential challenges and maintain business continuity.

• Lead and Oversee a Multifunctional Team covering Anti-Money Laundering, Regulatory Advisory, Regulatory Affairs, Data Privacy, Fraud Prevention, Business Continuity Management, Testing and Monitoring, and Risk Management
• Provide Compliance Advisory and Assessments on operational, product, and strategic matters, including project execution, regulatory gap analysis, compliance automation, licensing, and the introduction of new products and features
• Serve as the Primary Liaison between the company and regulators, maintaining strong relationships and ensuring smooth communication
• Deliver Strategic and Periodic Reports to the Board of Directors covering compliance performance and project status
• Advised the Board and internal stakeholders on compliance risks and ensured regular reporting to support effective oversight
• Products and Regulators Under Purview:

i) e-Money Issuance, Merchant Acquiring Services - Bank Negara Malaysia;

ii) Insurance - Malaysian General Insurance Association;

iii) Retail Payments Platform (DuitNow) - PayNet;

iv) Government Subsidy Program - Ministry of Finance

• Achievements:

i) Managed the eBelia Rahmah and other government subsidy programs' legal and regulatory workstream;

ii) Project Manager for e-Money licence transfer exercise; iii) Project Manager for the launch of various DuitNow functionalities under Interoperable Credit Transfer Framework

• Led a team providing regulatory advice on business operations and product development
• Serve as the Primary Liaison between the company and regulators, maintaining strong relationships and ensuring smooth communication
• Oversaw expansion of regulated financial products through licensing and registration with relevant regulators
• Built and managed relationships with financial regulators and key stakeholders for licence procurement and maintenance
• Establish and manage the Governance Framework, ensuring robust compliance and risk controls
• Managed projects, timelines, and multi-disciplinary teams
• Provided regulatory advisory to internal stakeholders and acted as the main liaison with regulators
• Advised the Board and internal stakeholders on regulatory risks and ensured regular reporting to support effective oversight
• Products and Regulators Under Purview:

i) e-Money Issuance, Merchant Acquiring Services - Bank Negara Malaysia;

ii) Insurance - Malaysian General Insurance Association, Malaysia Life Insurance Association;

iii) Retail Payments Platform (DuitNow) - PayNet;

iv) Government Subsidy Program - Ministry of Finance;

v) Digital Money Lending - Ministry of Local Government Development;

vi) Registered Market Operator - Securities Commission of Malaysia

• Achievements:

i) Project Manager and successfully obtained conditional approval from the Securities Commission to carry out the business of Registered Market Operator;

ii) Project Manager and successfully obtained licence to carry on Digital Money Lending business;

iii) Project Team and successfully obtained Digital Banking licence;

iv) Project Manager to obtain registration status with the Securities Commission, left before full approval was granted;

v) Project Team for BNPL Regulations discussion and negotiations with Consumer Credit Oversight Board;

vi) Project Manager of eKYC project and application to BNM Obtained various approvals and exemptions with respect to product offerings and enhancements from regulators

• Designed and implemented the framework with policies, procedures, and controls
• Ensured timely and accurate regulatory reporting
• Establish and manage the Governance Framework, ensuring robust compliance and risk controls
• Serve as the Primary Liaison between the company and regulators, maintaining strong relationships and ensuring smooth communication
• Advised the Board and internal stakeholders on compliance risks and ensured regular reporting to support effective oversight
• Products and Regulators Under Purview: Fund Management (Digital Investment Manager) - Securities Commission of Malaysia
• Achievements:

i) Successfully obtained the Capital Markets Services License for Digital Investment Manager;

ii) Operationalized the AML/CFT program, implementing client information capture, monitoring, and risk assessment;

iii) Established a marketing compliance framework addressing gaps in non-traditional marketing

iv) Consulted with the Securities Commission during the drafting stage of this policy as no such guideline existed during that time

• Oversaw a team managing the company's investment compliance framework
• Provided training on compliance matters and post-training testing and guidance to new employees
• Managed the regulatory developments related to the of the company by keeping abreast with regulatory updates and the application of any relevant regulatory updates to the current process
• Managed the licensing matters of the company and monitored ongoing licensing obligations
• Main point of liaison between internal stakeholders and regulators
• Liaised with Shariah Advisor to ensure that the funds under management were complying with Shariah requirements
• Advised the Board and internal stakeholders on compliance risks and ensured regular reporting to support effective oversight
• Products and Regulators Under Purview:Fund Management (Portfolio Management), Dealing in Securities (Unit Trust), Financial Planning - Securities Commission of Malaysia
• Achievements:

i) Part of the Global Team in the Global Optimization Program codifying the company's investment compliance framework through Bloomberg AIM and ensured that the rules are reviewed and maintained;

ii) Established the company's personal dealing framework which includes processes, documentation and education related to personal trades of staff in trades of Manulife shares and unit trusts;

ii) Established the shariah framework and corresponding policies and processes to ensure a more systematic way to approach shariah matters

• Oversaw a team of auditors to review the operations of entities in the group in line with the audit program established on a risk based approach and provided opinions and improvement points of the entities to adopt
• Achievements

i) Part of working group to set up the lslamic Stockbroking Scheme (ISS) and provided advice on controls and processes required during pre and post set up stage. Established the audit program and various standard operating procedure

ii) Part of the working group leading up to the merger with OSK Investment Bank to review and revamp the audit programs and operations manual of the merged entity.

• Part of a team managing the company's compliance framework and provided advice to internal stakeholders in relation to regulatory matters and acted as liaison between the company and the regulator, Securities Commission
• Products and Regulators Under Purview: Fund Management (Portfolio Management) - Securities Commission of Malaysia
• Achievements:

i) Managed the investment guidelines through Charles River and successfully reviewed and codified all rules into Charles River during the global migration from Nomura's proprietary monitoring system;

ii) Managed company secretarial matters of 2 licensed entities and worked closely with external company secretary on documentation and submissions required for both;

iii) Secretariat for the Board and internal committees of both companies and developed the governance framework; Project team in the establishment of Islamic Fund Management licensed entity and played a main role locally to prepare application documents to the Securities Commission and Companies Commission Malaysia;

iv) Project team to establish the Nomura Global Shariah Fund and assisted in the preparation and review of the Prospectus, Service Level Agreements, and request for proposals

v) Conducted research on various Shariah compliant products and UCITS III regulation and the suitability of Shariah compliant products in a UCITS III structure; Managed the licensing process for the newly established Shariah entity;

vi) Project Manager to establish the Shariah framework such as indices, watchlist, rules and governance mechanisms

• Part of a team managing the company's compliance framework and provided advice to internal stakeholders in relation to regulatory matters and acted as liaison between the company and the regulator, Bursa Malaysia
• Products and Regulators Under Purview: Universal Broker - Bursa Malaysia
• Achievements: Developed employee trading policy and procedures; Successfully conducted gap analysis on Rules of Bursa Malaysia Securities and worked with various stakeholders to remedy the gap