FINANCIAL ANALYST

Detail oriented professional with over 10 years in banking, extensive accounting and finance experience. Experienced in financial reporting, internal and external audits, reconcilement, process and procedures. Bachelor’s degree. Proficient with Microsoft Office, FAS, Hyperion, Globus, Miser and OLAP.

SENIOR OPERATIONAL RISK MANAGEMENT

Specialized skills in the areas of Information Technology, Information Security, Compliance and Operational Risk. Excellent background knowledge with banking regulations, BASEL, GLBA, PCI, HIPPA, SOX, as well as competencies in Process Mapping and Emerging Risks Research. Bachelor’s degree and certified Information Privacy Professional (CIPP). Proficient with Microsoft Office and applications Projects, Visio and Access, as well as Risk Analyzer Tools: SAS Risk Analyzer, Modulo Risk Manager and GRC Tool.

SENIOR CREDIT SUPERVISOR

Credit professional with over 10 years of experience with large regional banks. Experienced in writing credit reports that are used to approve commercial and syndicated loans ranging from $5 million up to $100 million for companies operating within a broad array of industries; such as real estate, retail, oil & gas, wholesale, air transport, durable and non-durable goods and health care. Bachelor’s degree with formal in-house credit training.

SENIOR COMPLIANCE OFFICER

Compliance professional experienced in Domestic/International Compliance Management (Bank and Broker/Dealer), Operations, OSJ Administration, AML and Risk Management. Maintains industry licenses (clean CRD): Finra 4, 7, 8, 24, 27, 63, 65, 87; NYSE 14 Compliance Official. Certified Regulatory Compliance Professional (CRCP) with a designation from the Wharton School of Business. Designated FINRA Arbitrator-Dispute Resolution Member. Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE)-Associate Member. Fully billingual in English and Spanish.

SPECIAL ASSETS OFFICER

Experienced in performing workouts involving OREO’s, as well as commercial and residential properties. In addition, strong commercial lending and credit/loan review background. Holds an MBA with a concentration in Finance.

PRIVATE WEALTH ADVISOR

Experiended in managing large portfolios and acquiring, retaining, and growing Wealth Management relationships. Holds professional licenses Series 7, 66, 6, 63 and Life, Health & Variable Annuity Real Estate. Owns designation as CRPC (Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor). Multilingual in four langauges: English, Spanish, French and Portuguese.

CORPORATE SECURITY PROFESSIONAL

With over 20 years of experience in security and risk management, investigations, training and development, and change process. Experience directing and developing regional and global plans, personnel, budget, fraud investigations, protective details, training courses, corporate security, risk control and compliance programs.

Are we next? Are you serious? Aren’t we the victims not the cause? What is really going on? It is not Wall Street, it is only a symbol. Everyone is feeling the relentless pressure of the economic slowdown. Another year with a skinny Christmas and no bonus. A helpless feeling of just holding on and not being able to do anything about it. Savings dwindling, if you still have any, and forget about retirement money. Everyone knows a recent grad that can’t find a job or someone a little older who lost theirs. Throw in student loans that promise a lifetime obligation and you add gasoline to the fire.

That’s what the movement is all about and it is not going away soon. Less than 10 % of the people are happy with their current government and there is worse to come. Perhaps as soon as next week when the US Congress puts on another demonstration in a dysfunctional system when they are forced to vote on more budget cuts that will lead to more layoffs and contractions which will undoubtedly lead to further stagnation. Next year does not look particularly good and the lack of leadership is appalling.

So don’t take this movement lightly. There are legitimate deep-seated grievances and hostility is looking for an escape hatch. We are at almost 15 % unemployment in this community and only 25 years ago we had serious race riots. These are not just fringe movements. People are angry, frustrated, disappointed and want change. We likely won’t see it in an invasion of Brickell Avenue but it is not just Wall Street they are angry at.

All the publications are forecasting talent shortages. Articles are focusing on the pent up demand for linchpin employees – those who can make a difference. Talent flow is world wide and getting to the talent is eased by the World Wide Web. And it is flowing but rather than from the underdeveloped world to the developed it is the reverse. This is partly because the developed world is snubbing the talent from abroad. In addition to immigration restrictions US corporations are beginning to feel the effects of the mass boomer exodus and educational shortfalls. And we could add the unwillingness to invest money and time into training.

The result is that over half of US companies report difficulty in filling jobs and nearly half state the lack of hard skills and experience. Yet it appears as though in looking for the perfect superstar, companies are neglecting the talent they do have. US companies would be well served to get back to basics. They have lost the ability to motivate their employees and create a positive environment and culture. This is an area in which corporate America excelled just a few years ago.

Survey after survey emphasizes a vast number of workers are frustrated and disengaged with their jobs. As many as 85% of mid to high level managers and top performers at companies today would like to change jobs as soon as the opportunity presents itself. Experts believe that when the economy finally starts to rev up, there will be the most massive turnover of positions in the country’s history as disgruntled workers will bolt from their current employer and find work elsewhere. It comes as a result of how employees today are feeling overworked, unmotivated and under-appreciated by their current companies, yet they are hanging on to their jobs for dear life. Is there a shortage of talent? Maybe the flood gates are about to open.

A major turning point in the history of mankind will be upon us in 2050 when the world population will start to shrink. We have just been hit with the estimate that the world population has reached seven billion and we can expect another two billion over the next twenty years. But this growth will stop and our species will no longer be expanding. This will be a turning point in the human race. Maybe there will be space on this planet for all of us after all. This is almost half a century sooner than expected according to research by Deutsche Bank.

Birth rates have been low in developed countries and they are now plunging in the developing world as well. The Chinese, Russians and Brazilians are no longer replacing themselves while Indians are having fewer children. India will still enjoy workforce growth well into the 2040’s on the other hand East Asian countries like Japan, China and South Korea will suffer sharp declines.

Aging society will respond with longer working lives and for many this has already begun- and more will be working at the age of seventy. Reassessment of economic geography will have some surprising shifts in the future work force and it is not what many expected.

We are a tired nation. Everyone is worn out and frustrated and it shows.

It is very easy to get caught up in the negative vibrations echoing through the financial sectors and in the political arenas as well. We will soon be bombarded with several billion dollars of negative political ads, with more money spent than the economies of most of the economies of the world, pointing out how every incumbent politician is incompetent, corrupt, and selfish and is having an affair with someone. Although this is probably true, it is hard to be positive and we do have some problems to resolve. Negative economic news, and soon ads, makes a difficult situation seem worse and somehow we will muddle through as there are some bright spots as well.

The US economy is a giant engine and even with minimal 1% to 3 % growth it can pull a lot of cars with it. The banking system is much more heavily capitalized now than at the beginning of the crisis and slowly digesting the forced mergers and problem loans. This includes the European banks, especially the UK banks, and they are beginning to pull together to resolve the Euro problem. It will be resolved because it has to and there is too much at stake to not to. Estimates are that it will cost six times as much to unravel the system as to bail it out. What we are becoming increasingly aware of is how much the system is interdependent. Furthermore the speed and availability of information and trading itself exacerbates the reactions and swings in the markets. They can move up almost as quickly as they move down. Yet in spite of the downgrading of the US risk, it is the best there is and the world still depends on the US to lead the way. Nobody is looking to China to solve the world’s financial crisis although they could help.

It is good news that the US government is recognizing it has an employment problem and is taking steps to address it. In banking, it is also promising to see that there is progress being made in resolving the capital and longevity issues of the community and regional banks. Being taken over or merged has not been as disastrous as forecast and the corresponding layoffs have somewhat been absorbed by the greater system. Yes, some of the larger banks have indicated they were cutting back on staffs but most of this is over time and a lot can happen between now and then. So on a whole, things have gotten bad enough that sides are talking and maybe the slide has stopped and the good news is that we will have less bad news.

No legal issue is more important to community banking in Florida than the NRA (Non Resident Aliens) accounts issue. Spurred on by Senator Carl Levin, who sees a tax cheat under every stone, there is an attack on the NRA accounts as he believes they are a shield for millions, and even billions, of tax dollars seeking to slip under the radar as US tax cheats masquerade as foreigners. Besides, many in Congress believe people everywhere should pay their fair share of taxes no matter where they are from and that the US banking system should not be used to evade their tax responsibility. NRA information will give the US a moral force and vehicle to request similar information from foreign governments and assist with FATCA enforcement. Levin has lots of converts and besides Florida only Texas feels strongly that the privacy of accounts needs to be protected. The irony of the requirement of the IRS that regulators are seeking to impose is that the persons being reported as account holders are not subject to US taxation as a result of passive income. They owe no money. To put their names on a list that can be submitted for foreign tax authorities and in fact traded to those authorities make investors nervous that the information can be misused. The US has long been considered a safe haven for investors seeking country risk diversification and stability. Now it is losing its attraction to many trying to escape corrupt and oppressive governments such as Cuba and Venezuela. When all of the cost and lost income is added up the dollar amount gained in tax levies is certainly a fraction of the cost of the heavy reporting burden placed making US banks the tax policemen of the world.

The ruling that will soon be enforced is that banks will be required to report to the IRS all non resident alien accounts by country to the IRS and that information can be shared with the government of the country of origin. Such accounts can represent as much as 60 or 70 % of the deposit base of some banks and is used for people who wish to have a business or presence in the US and who spend billions of dollars on an annual basis here. To chase them away will have a detrimental effect on the liquidity and lending capacity of the host banks many of which are in Florida, Texas or California as most of the depositors are Latins. Every dollar on deposit produces nine dollars in lending. A bill introduced in Congress by Senator Marco Rubio and sponsored by Representative Bill Posey in the House has a decent chance of passage. They are getting little help from their friends as it is not an issue of importance in other states and for them, tax cheats are tax cheats. In addition the big five banks are not complaining as they have their own problems and they have bigger fish to fry. Thus they are not pressuring the legislature. The bill, if passed, may slow the progress of implementation of the IRS ruling by introducing a one sentence bill that commands that the Treasury shall not require information reporting of interest not effectively connected to a US trade or business paid to a non resident alien on a deposit maintained at a US office. The bill has been endorsed by several bank lobbies and has a chance to pass. It is a last stance for international banking in this country as a safe and welcome place for a foreigner to do business. When we look back a few years from now and wonder why we have lost so many jobs, maybe we will remember killing the goose that laid the golden egg.

To some extent the damage has already been done. There is a sign at the border that says foreigners not welcome. Four trillion dollars of foreigner’s deposits are at risk. Many of the larger accounts and money are pouring out of the US. FATCA legislation is getting closer to implementation where not only US banks but all banks with an office in the US are being required to provide lists and real time activity of accounts of Americans around the world. By the way, the IRS definition includes not only individuals but any company or trust that have 10 percent of more beneficial ownership by a US Citizen as a citizen for tax purposes. The IRS has taken the banking system hostage to the point where Swiss banks are prohibiting their wealth management people or senior officers from traveling to the US even to take a vacation or change planes. Further they will not approve the work visa of an American to work for a Swiss bank in Switzerland. Frankly the Swiss like most of Europe are laughing at us and appalled we would cede the one area where the US had a competitive advantage and lead on the rest of the world. Over-regulation, this among it, has eaten into the leadership the US had in the financial world and it has become a hostile place to do business or travel to as a foreigner.

There are about 50 direct flights a week between Panama and Brazil on Copa Airline alone. Cruisers take cruise ships out of Panama because they cannot get visas to go to Miami or Ft. Lauderdale without a hassle. The same is true for changing planes to go to Europe. One owning an apartment must keep impeccable records of their, or even their spouses, days spent in the US to avoid US taxes on their world wide income. Venezuelan and other Latin Americans are finding a warm welcome in Panama. Their financial business as well. Thanks to foresight and infrastructure Panama stands ready to pick up the US rejects.

Panama’s banking center continues to grow. The financial hub grew at an estimated 12% in 2010 with consolidated assets totaling $71 billion. Net bank revenues were $1.7 billion up $150 million more than 2009. Panama’s economy itself grew 7% in 2010. That is growth equivalent to China’s GDP increase. It makes Panama one of the countries of the region least affected by the global financial crisis. Panama banks are solvent with over 65% asset liquidity and account for 11% of Panama’s GDP. The International Banking Center hosts some 80 banking institutions and 16,000 people. Its dollar based economy helps, as does its supervision and increasing array of financial services.

Most would agree Donald Trump is not investing his money in real estate in Panama on whim. Is there a real estate bubble? Most buildings and projects have 40 % equity and thus staying power. New hotels are being built and even airports. The increase in the canal is Panama’s own stimulus package. Lots of energy, building, including a new metro system, hotels, mining and jobs being created. Yes, there is a traffic problem – but doesn’t every growing city in the world have one. Energy, education and health further head the list of problems. Welcome to the developed world. Not all is rosy on the political front as politicians jockey for position. Taking all things into account, Panama is not Miami but is well along on its way to becoming the regions’ chief financial hub.

The countdown has begun as we approach the one year mark anniversary of the passage of Dodd-Frank when provisions begin kicking in and a number of which funnel into a vacuum. The 2,300 pages will require over 240 separate implementing legislations, the creation of several new federal organizations, the merger of others, and rules over a dozen areas of financial services. Its intent is to prevent a shadow banking system to exist and to provide an orderly transition if a systemic crash is threatened. We laud these aims as we all remember vividly the “crash”. As much as Dodd-Frank is talked about no one person or agency really understands all of it, nor is there a definitive study on its effects and how to make it better. Further clouding the banking landscape is other legislation and rules passed that simultaneously impact, in some cases more directly, such as the FATCA legislation, the IRS ruling which will require reporting on accounts of NRAs, Basel 3 among others. Hampered by deficits the government has attacked the banking system to deputize them to collect taxes world wide, a costly role and one for which they are ill suited.

Where does this all leave us? With uncertainty, concern, and reactionary over-regulation. We do know that the derivatives provisions, over 100 of them, that were scheduled for July 16 have been put off for six months as you could not have trading over an exchange that did not exist with rules that were not written. The law requires that certain risk be rated but the new rating agencies that are to perform this task also do not exist. We know that interest will soon be paid on checking accounts for businesses and that banks will receive a lesser few on credits cards. This will lower earnings that will have to be made up somewhere and will probably lead to credit card cancelations for marginal credit risks.

We know that significant new and more complex documentation will be required for consumer protection, again costly for financial institutions. We know that the regulators are vigorously enforcing stronger credit standards making it much more difficult to refinance a mortgage and freezing out lower income applicants by requiring large down payments. The latter surely has an effect on the housing and real estate markets. It is more cost effective for a bank to foreclose than to restructure. Small businesses are having their loans called and their credit card debit limits lowered with little alternative credit available. Thus the creators of 70% of new jobs are holding fast and slowing job creation. We see money flowing out of the US in torrents as foreign investors no longer consider the US a safe haven and foreign banks are leaving the US almost daily. Isn’t any one looking at the big picture?

In spite of this, we are adjusting to the new normal. We just have to understand the rules when someone knows them well enough to explain them. Banks are lending and seeking new clients. The system is stronger and better capitalized. Governments are cooperating. We are learning from our mistakes. And the government will find a way to stimulate the economy in an election year. But it will be a bumpy road in getting there and job creation will be slow. So will the housing market with such tight credit standards. And Dodd-Frank will dominate the banking news for better or for worse.