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  • Leading Edge Solutions in Risk Management,
    Compliance, Investigations and Due Diligence

  • Helping Our Clients Navigate
    Ever Changing Regulatory Requirements

  • Detecting, Assessing and Controlling Risk

Services

Technology Driven Compliance Solutions

CSMB has partnered with a leading financial services technology firm to bring our customers cutting edge Compliance solutions utilizing technologies such as artificial intelligence, BigData, machine learning, and robotic process automation. The first of our products is RiskRator®, a dynamic, highly rigorous and efficient technology solution for performing single entity and enterprise wide risk assessments. The program utilizes an entities’ transactional data as its foundation and can be run on an annual, quarterly or custom date range. As in our traditional risk assessment process, the RiskRator® program follows FFIEC and BSA/AML Examination Manual guidance and procedures, as well as FATF guidance, and includes the following activities: 

  • Assessment, rating and probability/impact of the risks associated with the Institution’s Products, Services, Customers, Channels and Geographic Locations
  • Assessment and rating of the AML/CFT Compliance Program/Controls and personnel
  • Assessment and rating of the methods and technology used for Sanctions (i.e. OFAC) screening and OFAC controls
  • Application of a risk weighted analysis to all mitigating factors resulting in the residual risk for each area and an overall risk profile for the organization.

The application also provides a series of interactive dash boards to present the Risk Assessment results in both high level “Board ready” images and detailed drill down data queries to provide in-depth insights of the factors driving the Risk Profile. Additionally, the tool provides the ability to explore “what if” scenarios to assist management decision making related to the risk impact of new products and services, acquisitions, divestitures, among others.

Compliance Advisory

International Standards/Risk Based Approach

CSMB provides the complete array of AML/CFT Compliance Services to the financial services industry, including banks, credit unions, broker-dealers, insurance companies, money services businesses and credit card companies.

Our Compliance services include:

  • Development/Review of ABC Policies and FCPA Compliance Programs
  • Development/Review of AML/CFT Compliance Programs 
  • Staff Assessments
  • Gap Analysis/Independent Evaluations
  • On-Site, Off-site Compliance Support Teams
  • Risk Assessments & Bank-Wide Risk Profile
  • Due Diligence & Enhanced Due Diligence Programs
  • Development of Policies & Procedures
  • Correspondent Banking AML Compliance Services
  • Automated Transaction Monitoring Validation
  • Training
  • Investigations
  • Transaction “Look-Backs”
  • Documentation Review and Customer File Remediation
  • Annual Correspondent Bank Review Preparation

Risk Management

Risk Assessments & Institutional Risk Profiles

CSMB has extensive experience in Risk Assessments and developing Institutional Risk Profiles at the entity or group level.   Our methodology follows FFIEC and BSA/AML Examination Manual guidance and procedures which are complemented by CSMB’s proprietary data driven analysis.

The Risk Assessment performed by CSMB combines quantitative analytics with thorough on-site reviews and qualitative assessments. The process evaluates a bank’s compliance systems and personnel, its transactions history and profile, its customers, products, channels and jurisdictions among other areas. 

The CSMB Risk Assessment Methodology includes:

  • Assessment of the risks associated with the Institution’s Products & Services, Customers, Channels and Geographic Locations
  • Assessment of the AML/Financial Crimes Compliance Program (audit, training, internal controls, and the Compliance Officer)
  • Reviews of the programs and monitoring systems
  • Assess the methods and technology used for OFAC screening & OFAC controls
  • Application of a risk weighted analysis to all mitigating factors resulting in an overall risk profile for the institution.

Compliance Support Teams

Outsourced, Top Caliber Compliance Teams

CSMB provides high caliber, industry certified, contract support staff for all areas of a financial institution’s Compliance Department.  Whether to address an enforcement action, handle rapid growth, an acquisition or other department challenge, CSMB’s exceptional compliance personnel will deliver the results your organization needs in a cost effective, timely manner with vetted, proven professionals. 

Our financial professionals are AMCLA, and / or CPMAL certified by the FIBA and FIU’s School of Business Executive and Professional Education. These certifications ensure our clients that the professionals from CSMB will provide exceptional services in the areas of financial crimes prevention, AML/CFT independent evaluations and risk assessments, and training, among others.

Our services range from placement of individuals to entire teams on-site or remotely.  Our performance-based approach incorporates robust Quality Control processes, performance and budget tracking and frequent feedback to ensure our services always meet our client’s expectations and needs.

CSMB’s Compliance Support services feature:

  • Resources for all levels & areas of the Compliance Department
  • Professionals vetted by CSMB’s experienced Compliance experts
  • Staff managed by CSMB or Client Managed
  • Performance & Budget Tracking – Weekly, Monthly
  • Quality Control monitoring by Senior CSMB staff

Correspondent Banking Services

Enhanced Due Diligence Services for Correspondent Banking Services

CSMB provides specialized services intended to assist banks in reducing the risk and cost of their Correspondent Banking relationships. CSMB can provide an in-depth evaluation or review of a Respondent’s compliance program to evaluate the effectiveness of the Bank’s internal controls to prevent and detect AML/CFT risks and determine if those controls are adequate to comply with regulatory requirements of local laws and with internationally accepted standards.

CSMB also provides on-going support to respondent institutions to ensure compliance programs and personnel perform at internationally accepted competency levels.

CSMB Correspondent Banking Services for Respondent Institutions:

  • Independent Compliance Program Evaluations
  • Documentary Reviews
  • On-Site Visitations
  • Program Enhancement/On-Going Support
  • Compliance training for all levels of the organization
  • KYC and On-Boarding process evaluation
  • Gap Analysis against Wolfsberg Group Principles and other industry best practices

Enhanced Due Diligence

Mitigating Relationship Risk

CSMB understands that borrowers, investors, vendors, customers and employees all bring a degree of risk to your organization and to the clients you represent. Counting with sound background knowledge of those whom you do business with will put your organization and the clients you represent at a competitive advantage and will help you formulate the most accurate investment proposal for the risks you are willing to take. The potential risk of doing business with someone who you do not know exceeds basic economic loss; it may increase your legal liability, including civil law suits and regulatory action, having a direct impact on an organization’s reputation and ultimately in shareholder value.

CSMB’s Due Diligence services range from basic background investigations to comprehensive evaluations of the internal controls established by financial services entities to comply with regulatory requirements. These services are offered in support of, among others, enhanced due diligence procedures for foreign and domestic financial institutions and multinational corporations, complex sales and transactions, and mergers and acquisitions. 

Our On-Site Due Diligence process includes performing on-site inspections to validate location, stated business purpose, presence of employees, inventory, equipment and other factors that support your KYC and Vendor Due Diligence process as well as background investigations on an entity’s key personnel.

Our Investigative Due Diligence services relay on techniques developed by law enforcement agencies thereby providing our clients with solid information about key personnel’s character, integrity and/or past conduct and their level of competence to perform assigned duties among other areas.

CSMB Due Diligence Services:

  • On-Site Visitations – Reports and Site Images
  • Investigative Due Diligence - Combining sanctions, background, adverse media, and other resources with local investigative reporting 

Compliance Training

Customized Solutions for the Board, Senior & Middle Management and Staff

CSMB works directly with clients in formulating and designing tailored training programs to ensure that regulatory requirements are met and that learning objectives are achieved. We train the Board of Directors, all levels of management and staff members. Our training team consists of highly seasoned, industry certified professionals with deep compliance expertise. Programs are tailored to specific job-related functions and can be provided on-site or on-line via pre-recorded sessions.

CSMB’s training services include:

  • High value, highly interactive sessions
  • Post training exam to measure participant learning
  • Competency based certificates of completion
  • CPE credits (when applicable)
  • Training of internal trainers
  • Evaluate/optimize the record-keeping system to maintain training materials and, employee participation records

Ethics & Compliance

Anti Briebery/Corruption & FCPA

CSMB has deep expertise in all areas related to Ethics and FCPA. The firm conducts investigations into alleged violations of laws, allegations of bribery and financial mismanagement including kickbacks, money laundering, internal control lapses and other financial improprieties. Our professionals bring diverse and relevant experience to conduct assessments, train personnel, and where necessary find and interpret the evidence required to investigate harassment, ethical violations, FCPA violations, and fraud.

If your organization is a victim of fraud, corruption, or other misconduct, CSMB can assist by performing an investigation to assess the magnitude of the malfeasance, to quantify and qualify the impropriety, and to help identify the responsible party(ies). Furthermore, CSMB’s professionals are well versed in conducting such investigations while preserving valuable documentary and digital evidence, implementing internal controls and remediation, and preparing reports of findings for internal use or to support civil or criminal proceedings. Our combined experience in investigative and financial issues allows us to separate deceptions from facts and find the underlying cause of fraud schemes. Our team provides assessments of implemented programs and systems of internal control, identifying potential vulnerabilities and recommending modifications to reduce risks.

Our general methodology for assisting organizations with expert advice on Ethics and Compliance matters consists of multiple stages including:

  • Anti-Bribery – FCPA, UK Bribery Act
  • Code of Conduct
  • Dodd-Frank Act
  • Privacy – GLBA
  • Whistleblower Protection Act
  • Ethics, Internal Controls, and Compliance Assessments

Forensic Investigations

Intelligence to detect and prevent illicit activity

CSMB facilitates coordinated efforts to identify, collect, analyze and interpret financial data, applying the relevant information to a legal dispute or issue, and rendering an opinion. CSMB understands that every organization is unique, yet our field experience enables us to rapidly discover and explore behavior patterns that may resemble others we have addressed in prior case assignments. Our insight, investigative skills, document and database control, analytical abilities, forensic accounting expertise, and report-writing capabilities have been brought to bear on high-profile cases, including foreign government corruption and financial fraud investigations.

Upon completion of a forensic investigation, CSMB will support your organization with risk management guidance and will assist in measuring your ability to detect and prevent future incidents. All clients’ affairs are handled by our senior level consultants in a highly professional manner with assured confidentiality.

CSMB Forensic Investigation Services:

  • Financial Investigations
  • Fraud and misconduct investigations
  • Misappropriation of corporate assets
  • Money laundering investigations
  • Bid rigging and procurement fraud investigations

Professionals

Ana Maria de Alba, CPAML, AMLCA

Founder & CEO (USA)

Ana Maria de Alba is a risk management and banking consultant with over 30 years’ experience providing compliance and risk management consulting services, as well as forensic investigations and litigation support to the domestic and international financial services community. Ms. de Alba founded CSMB in 1997 and since then she has conducted and participated in numerous consulting assignments throughout the United States, Latin America, and the Caribbean. She leads all of CSMB’s business practices.

As a former senior banking officer in both domestic and foreign banks including SunTrust, Banco Atlántico, International Finance Bank, and BICSA, Ms. de Alba was engaged in private banking administration and organization, analysis and control of asset/liability mixes, analysis and management of foreign exchange, organizational definition, and strategic planning. Additionally, from 1997 through 2002 Ms. de Alba served as adjunct professor for senior level courses taught at the Management and International Business Department of Florida International University (FIU) in Miami, Florida, and is currently the lead academic advisor and instructor at Florida International Bankers Association (FIBA), teaching the AMLCA and CPAML certification course in partnership with FIU.

Ms. de Alba has utilized her banking and financial expertise to assist clients in conducting risk assessments, maintaining business integrity, uncovering breaches, and developing solutions to deter further criminal activity. She has supported a significant number of banks in evaluating internal controls through the process of risks assessments, as well as in developing and documenting standard operating policies and procedures and providing advice and consultation to clients regarding the prevention, detection, and deterrence of money laundering and terrorist financing.

She has been engaged by numerous financial institutions to perform mandatory and/or targeted training and development on AML/CFT subject matter, anti-money laundering and other consumer regulatory compliance evaluations, risk assessments to comply with provisions of various regulatory mandates, forensic or “look-back” reviews of high-risk account activity, forensic fraud investigations, and investigations on government corruption. As a financial investigator, her experience has been instrumental in uncovering violations to further resolution and prosecution. Ms. de Alba is also a frequent speaker at trade conferences in the United States, Latin America, and Europe.

Ms. de Alba earned her master’s degree (MBA) in Banking and Finance from Nova Southeastern University and her Bachelors’ Degree in Business Administration with a Major in Finance from the University of Miami. She is FIBA certified in both AMLCA and CPAML and is certified by the CFATF (an FSRB for the FATF-GAFI) as an expert in Mutual Evaluations Methodology.

Ana Maria de Alba is fully bilingual in English and Spanish.

Celeste De Armas, AMLCA

President (USA)

Celeste De Armas is Principal and Chief Operating Officer of CSMB International. Ms. De Armas has over 30 years’ experience in executive management and consulting for corporate entities and financial institutions. Ms. De Armas leads the Firm’s Enhanced Due Diligence Practice focusing on site visitations and independent evaluations of high-risk customers particularly correspondent banking, wealth management and NRAs. Ms. De Armas also directs the firm’s technology services group developing cutting edge software for compliance automation. Beyond these areas Ms. De Armas guides the overall growth and operational strategy for CSMB.

Ms.  De Armas has led staff assessment and operations improvement projects for financial institutions and corporations.  Ms.  De Armas joined CSMB in early 2013.  Prior to joining CSMB, Ms. De Armas spent 5 years doing strategic consulting for early stage companies and founded and later sold Nueva Cocina Foods.  Prior to Nueva Cocina, Ms. De Armas spent 15 years in senior positions with Nestle USA culminating in her role as SVP and General Manager of the Chilled Foods Division of Nestle USA and VP Corporate Strategy and Planning for Nestle USA. 

Ms. De Armas has a Masters’ Degree in Business from the Kelley School of Management at Indiana University, and a bachelor’s degree in Business from California State University, Long Beach.  She holds the prestigious Anti-Money Laundering Certified Associate (AMLCA) designation from FIU/FIBA, which she maintains in good standing through continuing education in AML/CFT compliance matters.

Celeste de Armas is fully bilingual in English and Spanish.

Cody J. Smith, CPAML

Managing Director, Executive Consultant (USA)

Cody Smith brings over 18 years of banking experience, specializing in Anti Money Laundering Compliance and Business Risk to CSMB where he leads projects for foreign and domestic financial institutions which include program development, independent evaluation and testing, risk assessment, examination remediation, advisory and training.

Prior to joining CSMB, Mr. Smith worked for Wells Fargo Bank where he traveled throughout Latin America evaluating the AML Compliance structure and programs of foreign financial institutions to identify the business risk posed by correspondent relationships. Prior to that he was Vice President of Compliance for the Americas region of a Spanish Caja de Ahorros where he developed and implemented the compliance program for this de novo International Agency.

Mr. Smith has also worked as the Compliance Officer of the International Wealth Management line of business at SunTrust Bank. In these roles he has been responsible for the on-going development, implementation and risk assessment of effective BSA/AML/OFAC, fraud prevention and consumer compliance programs and has trained teams to identify and mitigate associated risks.

Cody studied Political Science at Florida International University, and he is CPAML certified, the prestigious Certified Professional in AML, which is the highest level designation from Florida International University (FIU) and the Florida International Bankers Association (FIBA). Mr. Smith maintains all designations in good standing through continuing education in AML/CFT compliance matters.

Cody is bilingual in English and Spanish.

Jason A. Garrandes, AMLCA, CPAML

Executive Consultant (USA)

Jason A. Garrandes brings over thirteen years of experience within the financial services industry, and extensive knowledge of Bank Secrecy Act (BSA)/Anti-Money laundering (AML) laws and regulations. Mr. Garrandes has a solid background in BSA/AML/OFAC regulations, Customer Due Diligence, Enhanced Due Diligence, Know Your Customer, and USA Patriot Act requirements. Furthermore, Mr. Garrandes has successfully managed BSA/AML/OFAC Departments and has played a major role in the lifting of three consent orders issued by the OCC and the FDIC.

Prior to joining CSMB, Mr. Garrandes served as Senior Vice President, BSA/AML/OFAC Officer for Continental National Bank (CNB) where he was hired to address weaknesses noted in issued consent order and to remedy all pillars of their BSA/AML/OFAC program. During his tenure with CNB, he managed and successfully addressed all deficiencies identified in the consent order which included the hiring and management of competent resources to address regulatory issues. In addition, Mr. Garrandes directed various bank projects imposed by the Consent Order and Report of Examinations (ROE).

Prior to his role at CNB Mr. Garrandes was the Assistant (Deputy) BSA/AML/OFAC Officer and managed the day-to-day operations of the BSA/AML/OFAC department for Intercredit Bank NA, Helm Bank USA, and Gibraltar Private Bank & Trust which all had regulatory enforcement actions placed by their respective regulator (OCC and FDIC) prior to Mr. Garrandes’ hiring. All three enforcement actions were successfully remediated.

Mr. Garrandes holds Bachelors’ degree in Political Science with a minor in Criminal Justice from Florida State University and is AMLCA certified by the Florida International Bankers Associated (FIBA). In addition, he holds a Compliance Certificate from the Center of Financial Training (CFT).

Mr. Garrandes is fully bilingual in English and Spanish.

Julio Aguirre, CPAML, CAMS

Senior Executive Consultant (Panama)

Julio Aguirre brings to CSMB over 28 years of banking experience dealing with Compliance, Trade Finance and Bank Operations.  Prior to joining CSMB, Mr. Aguirre served for over 11 years as Senior Vice President and Head of Compliance for Banco Latinoamericano de Comercio Exterior (Bladex), and for over 16 years as Senior Vice President and Finance Manager, at Banco Internacional de Panama (Bipan), where he was responsible for all matters ranging from Operations to Compliance for the bank and its subsidiaries.

Mr. Aguirre is a member and First Vice-President of the Money Laundering Prevention Committee of FELABAN (the Federation of Latin-American Banks). He held the chairmanship of the Compliance Officers’ Committee of the Panama Banking Association for more than 15 years, he is the President of the Organizing Committee of the Hemispheric Congress for the Money Laundering Prevention of the Panama Banking Association, and he is member of the Special AML and Crime Finance Committee of ACAMS Group for Latin America.

Mr. Aguirre has participated as member of the “US-LA PSD Steering Group meeting”, and he has participated and continues to be a frequent speaker at international Money Laundering Prevention and Terrorist Financing Congresses in LATAM, US and the Caribbean.

Mr. Aguirre is also a founder and director of A&S Advisors in Panama a firm dedicated to anti-money laundering and financial crimes consulting services and a member of the CSMB Network Alliance.

Mr. Aguirre holds an MBA in Business Administration from Latina University in Panama, a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Panama University, and holds both the ACAMS designation as well as the prestigious Certified Professional in AML designation (CPAML) from Florida International University (FIU) and the Florida International Bankers Association (FIBA), which he maintains in good standing through continuing education in AML/CFT compliance matters.

Julio Aguirre is fully bilingual in English and Spanish.

Roderick Schwarz, CPAML, CAMS

Senior Executive Consultant (Panama)

Roderick Schwarz is an attorney with over 16 years’ experience in the prevention of money laundering and financial crimes, corporate security, and investigations for banking, securities, insurance, MSBs and other related industries. Prior to joining CSMB, Mr. Schwarz served as Compliance Officer and as a Vice President of Corporate Security and Research Services in global banking institutions such as Citibank (Venezuela and Aruba) and other financial institutions operating in Venezuela and within the LATAM and Caribbean markets.

Mr. Schwarz has been responsible for leading and executing risk management projects to identify and measure the inherent risk level and define residual risk for large multinational institutions. He has implemented and developed processes, policies, regulations and internal compliance procedures, evaluated internal control systems, served as special guest auditor in inspection and corporate auditing procedures for correspondent banking clients and conducted specialized transactional audits (look-back's).

Mr. Schwarz has held executive positions in various compliance committees of the Asociación Bancaria de Venezuela. As an attorney, he has conducted comparative law examinations for multinational institutions with the purpose of aligning processes to local and international law and guiding corporate governance structures. In addition, Mr. Schwarz has served as a technical consultant in criminal procedures and he has served as a Professor at the Instituto de Altos Estudios de Derecho and the Instituto de Desarrollo Profesional de los Colegios de Contadores Públicos.

Mr. Schwarz received his legal degree from Santa María University in Venezuela and his advanced studies degree in banking from the Universidad Simón Bolívar. He maintains two leading AML/compliance certifications, namely, CAMS and the CPAML which is the prestigious Certified Professional in AML designation from Florida International University (FIU) and the Florida International Bankers Association (FIBA). Mr. Schwarz maintains all designations in good standing through continuing education in AML/CFT compliance matters.

Mr. Schwarz is also a co-founder and director of A&S Advisors in Panama, a firm dedicated to anti-money laundering and financial crimes consulting services and a member of the CSMB Network Alliance.

Roderick is bilingual in English and Spanish.

Yamishel Rodríguez, CAMS, AIRM

Senior Consultant (Panama)

Yamishel Rodríguez is an attorney with more than 16 years of professional experience in AML/CFT Compliance related matters in the Banking, Insurance and Securities industries.

Prior to joining CSMB, Ms. Rodriguez held the position of Compliance Officer at Banesco Banco Universal as well as Prevention Manager at Inverunión Banco Comercial, SA. Ms. Rodriguez has also served as Chair of the Compliance Officers Committee of ASOCOVAL - the Association representing the Brokerage industry in Venezuela. In this role, she led the planning and training activities for the Directors and members of the Association. In addition, Ms. Rodriguez also worked at CONACUID, the National Anti-Drug Office of Venezuela (ONA), in the area of asset recovery from drug-related crimes.

Ms. Rodriguez manages a broad range of projects spanning from the development of AML policies and procedures, independent evaluations, transaction system validations, staff assessments, and Enhanced Due Diligence (EDD) validations among others.

Yamishel graduated from the school of law at the Universidad Santa María of Caracas-Venezuela. She is Certified as Anti-Money Laundering Specialist by ACAMS and as Risk Manager by ALARYS, the Latin American Risk Association.

Miguel Yépez, AMLCA

Senior Consultant (Ecuador)

Miguel Yépez brings over 30 years of banking and public sector experience to CSMB, and is responsible for representing CSMB in Ecuador. Mr. Yépez has been employed by the Government of Ecuador as a Consultant with the Secretaría de Inteligencia (the country’s Intelligence Agency) as well as a Consultant in the Financial ad Economics Analysis Unit of the Unidad De Análisis Financiero Económico (UAFE), Ecuador’s financial intelligence unit.

Mr. Yépez started his professional career in the operations area of Bank of America. In the banking sector Mr. Yépez served as President of Banco De Préstamos in Panama where he was responsible for opening the branch, hiring the staff, building the client base, and negotiate lines of credit among other duties. Prior to moving to Panama, Mr. Yépez spent 7 years with Banco De Préstamos in Guayaquil in various roles including head of Operations, Head of Accounts, Manager of the bank’s Branches and Head of the Credit Department.

Mr. Yépez also brings extensive experience in the insurance sector having spent over five years working for OMG Seguros and ATESEGU in Guayaquil.

Miguel has a finance degree from Universidad LAICA “Vicente Rocafuerte” de Guayaquil, and he also holds the prestigious AMLCA certification as certified specialist in Anti-Money Laundering, a designation from Florida International University (FIU) and the Florida International Bankers Association (FIBA). Miguel maintains all designations in good standing through continuing education in AML/CFT compliance matters.

Corina Mascaro, AMLCA

Senior Consultant (USA)

Corina Mascaro is a banking executive with over 20 years’ experience in the domestic financial services industry, both in the banking and securities sectors. Ms. Mascaro's professional background expands over various fields such as Lending and Private Banking as well as Regulatory Compliance, where over the past 5 years she has developed extensive experience with particular emphasis on BSA, USA Patriot Act, Anti-Money Laundering, and Sanctions/OFAC related compliance matters.

Prior to joining CSMB, Ms. Mascaro was an international commercial lender at Northwest Bank Corp, in Minneapolis Minnesota, where she was responsible for origination, management and supervision of a portfolio of commercial loans with the objective of maintaining and increasing its asset quality and scope. She maintained up-to-date customer’s files including current balance sheets, profit and loss statements, cash flow projections and loan documentation, all in compliance with BSA/AML/OFAC regulatory requirements. In this position, she was also responsible for negotiating terms and loan structure based on risk considerations and presented new credits and renewals for approval to the Bank’s senior loan committee. From lending she transferred to Los Angeles, California and accepted a position at Shearson-Lehman Brothers as a securities broker dealer, where she built and managed an equity and fixed income portfolio for both international and domestic clients in the exchange market. Ms. Mascaro then joined Wells Fargo Bank in Los Angeles, California as a senior Private Banking executive where she managed a large portfolio of international clients.

Ms. Mascaro began consulting in 2012, where she began strengthening her knowledge around AML compliance matters. With CSMB, she has specialized in all matters regarding OFAC sanctions programs and assists both domestic and international clients in compliance related investigations, KYC remediation projects, and quality control assurance.

Corina Mascaro holds both a bachelor of arts degree and a master’s degree from the University of Missouri in Romance Languages, and a master degree in business administration from the University of Southern Illinois. Furthermore, she earned the prestigious FIBA AMLCA certification, which she maintains in good standing through continuing education in BSA/AML/OFAC compliance matters.

Corina Mascaro is fluent in English, Spanish and French.

Markela Martinez

Advisory and Technical Support Manager (USA)

Markela Martinez brings over 20 years of experience in domestic and international banking, specializing in Operational Risk Management, Internal Controls and Compliance.  She has developed solid expertise of the banking industry’s laws, regulations, risk management standards and international best practices.  At CSMB Ms. Martinez consults across a variety of projects with a special focus on risk assessments, staff evaluations and technical compliance projects.

Prior to joining CSMB, Ms. Martínez was Operational Risk Officer at Banco LAFISE Panama, where she was responsible for assisting the Bank's Risk Manager in the implementation and compliance of the bank’s operational risk management framework.

Before joining Banco LAFISE, Ms. Martinez was the Risk Officer at Banco Internacional de Costa Rica, where she began her banking career a Letter of Credit specialist. As a Risk Officer she was responsible for performing the risk management evaluations of the Bank's risk areas and the annual vendor review.  The vendor review included due diligence, revision of contracts and ongoing oversight of outsourcing relationships as well as the continuous supervision of subcontracting relationships, aimed at identifying risks and ensuring compliance with State and Federal laws, including Gramm-Leach Bliley Act (GLBA). She was also responsible for monitoring compliance with physical security controls and the Bank’s client privacy policy, ensuring that all aspects of risk were considered and that user specific practices were in line with the bank’s established policies.

Ms. Martinez attended the University of Santa Maria de la Antigua, where she earned a degree in Finance.  She also holds the risk management certification AIRM (ALARYS).

Markela is bilingual in English and Spanish.

Pamela Wilkerson, CAMS

Senior Consultant (USA)

Pamela Wilkerson is an international banking and compliance professional with over 30 years’ field experience in international financial matters for private and public financial institutions, in both the Latin American and Caribbean markets. Ms. Wilkerson specializes in matters relating to anti-money laundering, know your customer, correspondent banking, customer due diligence and enhanced due diligence per USA Patriot Act requirements, offshore banking, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, and EU Directives.

Ms. Wilkerson joined CSMB in early 2016; since then, she has been involved in multiple large scale assignments with foreign financial institutions, assisting in the implementation of AML/CFT compliance programs; developing and documenting policies and procedures, providing AML/CFT training to both operations and commercial teams; performing gap analysis of internal controls; performing risk assessments; and conducting in high risk account reviews and investigations.

Prior to joining CSMB, Ms. Wilkerson was Vice President & Regional Risk Officer for Global Financial Institutions at Wells Fargo Bank. Her primary function was to provide client underwriting for international financial institutions, and relationship monitoring. Also, with Wells Fargo, she held a position with the Internal Audit Department with duties covering planning, execution, validation and reporting on the organization’s international compliance program.

Prior to Wells Fargo, Mrs. Wilkerson held several senior roles with JP Morgan Chase Bank in Dallas and Chicago. She was Relationship Manager focused on trade finance in emerging markets. As Vice President, International Compliance Manager in the Global Financial Institutions unit she coordinated the Anti-Money Laundering/Know Your Customer process and for correspondent banks and other financial entities in the Middle East, Latin America, Caribbean and Europe. She also worked on policy and procedure development and implementation, project management, regulatory examination, internal audit coordination, and training.

Prior to her involvement at JP Morgan Chase Bank, Ms. Wilkerson served at the World Bank Group (IBRD) in Washington D.C. as an International Investments Trader and Analyst.

Ms. Wilkerson has a Masters’ Degree of Science in Economics/Finance from Texas A & M University. She is certified as an Anti-Money Laundering Specialist by ACAMS.

About Us


THE CSMB DIFFERENCE: Focused, Experienced, Driven

 

CSMB is a leading, specialized advisory firm focused on helping clients manage the ever-evolving regulatory environment and the balance between institutional growth, costs and risk.  Founded in 1997, CSMB is unique among consulting companies in that only senior staff work on client projects, ensuring that only deeply experienced and certified personnel are engaged in client assignments. CSMB is driven to provide highly value-added solutions with rigid adherence to deliverables and costs.

CSMB provides clients in the corporate, financial, and legal communities with specialized investigative and consulting services through its offices in the United States, Panamá, Ecuador, and through a network of associates located throughout the US and Latin America. The firm’s core business is risk management, all aspects of Anti Money Laundering (AML) Compliance, Due Diligence, and Fraud Investigations. At CSMB, we assist and support our clients to plan, control, and react to risks, in a timely manner. We have over 30 years of experience in the financial services and consulting industries, performing risk assessments, security and internal control consulting services, and forensic investigations stemming from allegations of fraud or money laundering, which have earned the firm and its President & CEO, Ms. Ana Maria de Alba, impeccable reputation in the domestic and international business community.

Typical assignments for CSMB include projects concerning domestic and international Due Diligence, Know Your Customer (“KYC”) and EDD investigations and remediation projects, BSA/AML/OFAC program development and independent evaluations and validations, AML/CFT risk assessments, calibration and validation of transaction monitoring software, high risk account review projects, and forensic review projects. CSMB is committed to integrity and constantly develops innovative solutions that create added value to the services we provide our clients.  Our network of professionals includes former bankers, former officers of federal agencies, CPAs, attorneys, and seasoned consultants with ample experience in risk mitigation, investigations, and internal control evaluations.

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Alliances

CSMB alliances leverage combined expertise, market access and technology to drive superior results for our clients.

Aguirre & Schwarz , S.A. 

CSMB Network Member

Aguirre & Schwarz, S.A. evolved from CSMB (Panamá), S.A., in the second half of 2018 as part of CSMB’s strategic five-year plan. AS is now a member of the CSMB Alliance Network, with its distinct product and service offerings in audit services, systems and model validations, providing support to governments and their agencies in the implementation of AML/CFT international standards issued by FATF-GAFI, among others.

Alacriti Payment Systems

Technology Partnership
Alacriti is a technology company specializing in payments software and technology services for financial and non-financial institutions. As a CSMB partner, Alacriti powers RiskRator™ a proprietary and innovative solution that automates an entity’s AML/CFT risk assessment process and provides analytical tools and visualizations to support senior management and the Board of Directors ability to make sound and risk-based decisions.

ECS Fin

Data & Application Integration

ECS Fin is an fintech firm that designs and develops software solutions with a systems approach to transaction processing. Founded in 1999 as a consulting firm, ECS advised many Fortune 100 companies, coordinating business divisions and technology groups. ECS delivers IMS solutions combining processing modules, supporting components, and connectivity services taking into consideration the complete life cycle of a transaction bringing efficiency and lean in processing while ensuring accountability to every message/transaction of an enterprise.


Formación y Competencia (FO&CO)

Professional Education
FO&CO Formación & Competencia Is a company focused on training and professional development. The Panamá based company complements CSMB’s service offerings by providing a broad range of training and talent development solutions.

ThreatMetrix

Identity Intelligence
ThreatMetrix revolutionizes digital authentication and fraud prevention by uniting online and offline attributes in real time, enabling organizations to establish the true digital identity of their customers. Through our alliance with LexisNexis, CSMB maintains a unique relationship with ThreatMetrix to complement our technology services and add value to each of our relationships.

LexisNexis

Digital AI & Information
LexisNexis is a leading global provider of information and analytics that enables professionals to improve decision making. The LexisNexis WorldCompliance™ Online Search Tool provides our client base with the ability of expediting financial crime compliance workflows.

Contact Us

CSMB Locations

CSMB is headquartered in Miami Beach, Florida with a network of CSMB alliances in Panama, Ecuador, Venezuela and Mexico.

Careers at CSMB

CSMB offers a variety of opportunities for compliance professionals. If you are an AML/CFT Consultant or Analyst please submit your resume for consideration to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.


CSMB Corporate Headquarters

CSMB International Inc.
300 71st Street, Suite 448
Miami Beach, FL 33140
(305) 865-5664
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CSMB Ecuador

Edificio World Trade Center
Avenida Francisco de Orellana
Torre B, Oficina 526
Guayaquil, Ecuador

CSMB Panama

Members of the CSMB Network Alliance

Aguirre & Schwarz, S.A.
Century Tower
Avenida Ricardo J. Alfaro
Piso 4, Oficina 401
Panama, Republic of Panama