Operations and Risk Management

Katherine M. Kremins

201-***-**** / actb84@r.postjobfree.com / https://www.linkedin.com/in/katherine-m-kremins-01737462

Operations & Risk Management Executive

Results-driven senior executive with extensive experience providing operations / risk management for financial service organizations. Successful at designing and implementing risk-based methodologies and internal controls to identify, assess, and mitigate risks across operations. Excel at building and leading highly skilled, multidisciplined teams that collaborate as focused units to drive performance and cost savings with minimal risks to firm. Effective at leveraging process improvements, risk assessments, and quality assurance initiatives to achieve regulatory compliance. Able to define and align staff resources and practical solutions to improve customer service, profitability, and risk management.

Core Leadership Competencies

Operations & Risk Management

Process / Operational Improvement

Risk Management / Internal Controls

Staff Training & Development

Internal Controls Design, Validation, & Reporting

Regulatory Compliance / Quality Assurance

Financial Management

Cross-Functional Collaboration & Leadership

Professional Experience

ACTORS FEDERAL CREDIT UNION – New York, NY

2015 - Present

A Federal Chartered Credit Union with offices in NYC, Chicago and Los Angeles.

Vice President of Operations

Oversee multiple facets of the credit union’s daily operations consisting of member service, lending, marketing, collections, money service businesses and ATMs. A member of the executive management team with responsibility for compliance with all statues and regulations under which the credit union operates.

PASCACK COMMUNITY BANK – Waldwick, NJ

2013 – 2014

New Jersey chartered commercial bank with eight locations primarily in Bergen and Northern Essex Counties.

Operational Risk Consultant (contract assignment)

Used broad range of knowledge in banking operations, retail banking, risk management and compliance to develop and deliver updated written policies for operations teams after new President/CEO was appointed.

Wrote updated policies on compliance, customer identification and problem resolution, business continuity, Bank Secrecy Act/ Anti-Money Laundering (BSA/AML) and Secure and Fair Enforcement for Mortgage Licensing Act (SAFE), which kept bank in compliance, avoided fines/penalties, and facilitated improved staff training.

PEAPACK-GLADSTONE BANK – Bedminster, NJ

1999 – 2012

Wholly owned commercial bank with 23 branches across New Jersey and total assets of $1.64 billion.

Senior Vice-President (2010 – 2012)

Promoted to oversee day-to-day operations with accountability for new product development, funds transfer, check processing, bookkeeping activities, and deposits. Supervised and trained four direct reports. Led process improvements, change management, financial management, quality assurance, and customer / employee relations.

$200,000 saved per year by planning and coordinating operational changes to decrease amount of hard copy correspondence to and from branches.

$73,000 in revenue growth generated by launching a regular review of bank fees to determine firm’s market position and status of waived customers, while implementing continuous overdraft fee.

75% increase in customer base achieved by spearheading an initiative to upgrade a lockbox product to be more dynamic and robust.

20% expense reduction realized by executing a cost comparison process to evaluate and purchase everyday office supplies at the lowest possible cost.

10% overtime expense savings realized by outsourcing mailing of bank statements and reallocating staff resources to address quality control and security issues across operations.

Stayed within 10% budget variance by introducing and rolling out reporting tools to develop and implement budgets.

Boosted fee income by 40% by introducing new products that included "Opt-In" for debit card point-of-sale and ATM overdrafts to support various areas of bank (complex compliance, operations, marketing, and training).

Saved close to 6,000 man-hours by successfully implementing suggested methodologies and improvements to existing processes / procedures as part of completing an operational assessment.

Vice-President, Risk Management (2005 – 2010)

Promoted to develop and maintain bank’s risk management / internal control reporting requirements. Accountable for internal control architecture to ensure compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley and FIDICA requirements. Maintained bank-wide continuity plan. Planned and coordinated annual institution-wide risk assessment.

50% decrease in process time attained by establishing a risk management training program in efforts to reduce time spent performing annual bank-wide risk assessment.

30% increase in administrative efficiency gained by engaging and holding accountable all department heads in writing their own policies and procedures.

Launched new business continuity plan across each business line by leveraging series of meetings and mock drill to foster and promote company-wide understanding and importance of business continuity planning.

Successfully made bank data readily accessible to all tellers by spearheading team to develop and roll out a teller platform to automate and integrate customer account balance data.

Led numerous projects to design and deploy internal controls supporting policies and procedures across bank operations, increasing productivity and saving more than 1,000 man-hours related to daily workflow.

Vice-President, Branch Manager (2002 – 2005)

Directed daily operations for a Long Valley bank branch generating $55.8 million in deposits. Supervised and trained nine staff members in customer relations and bank branch operations.

95% staff retention rate accomplished by establishing a teamwork environment and staff development program to significantly improve service excellence and staff morale.

Selected to create and lead a Branch Operations Review Team to reduce careless audit exceptions, infractions, and errors by 75%.

60% boost in cross-sell ratio achieved by creating a uniform process using checklists to help branch staff track and manage customer service issues.

39% increase in bank deposits produced by continuously coaching staff in marketing and promoting bank product solutions based on customer's financial needs.

PEAPACK-GLADSTONE BANK – Bedminster, NJ

1999 – 2002

Wholly owned commercial bank with 23 branches across New Jersey and total assets of $1.64 billion.

Assistant Vice-President, Branch Manager

ROBERT E. STONE, CLU – Springfield, NJ

1997 – 1999

Branch office for Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance and Robert W. Baird & Co. Investments.

Compliance Specialist / Operations Assistant

BARRY N. REIN & ASSOCIATES – Livingston, NJ

1995 – 1997

Privately held bank auditing consulting firm.

Supervisor

SUMMIT BANK – Chatham, NJ 1986 – 1995

Commercial Bank in NJ- n.k.a. Bank of America

Various Roles

Education / Certification / Affiliations

B.A. in Economics, Montclair State University, Montclair, NJ

Graduate Diploma in Banking, Georgetown University-Stonier Graduate School of Banking, Washington, DC

NJ Insurance Producers License – Life and Health

AFFILIATIONS:

Rotary International

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