Rebecca Schauer Robertson still laughs when she remembers how her career in financial services got its jump-start in the mid-1990s. Fresh out of college in Tennessee, she was spending most of her summer days hanging out with friends at beaches. Then, her father called with a dose of tough love. “He told me, ‘I’m not paying your rent at the end of this month, so you better get a job!’” Robertson says. 

That push led Robertson to become the manager of a small finance company that processed loans. A few years later, she applied for a role at a new local bank in East Tennessee. After working her way up in all the front-line positions, the bank’s president asked her to work in the mortgage department. “I became the top processor for our top loan producer,” Robertson says. “I also managed the bank’s Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HDMA) reporting, which got my foot in the door for compliance work.” 

Roberston eventually left the bank to explore other work opportunities, but eventually, she returned to banking when she relocated to another state. In 2002, she was hired as a compliance specialist by a local bank in South Carolina, which later became South State Bank. About two years later, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) informed the bank that it needed to create a Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) program and Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) program as soon as possible, or it risked facing a significant regulatory issue. 

“My boss said to me, ‘Hey, we need a BSA and OFAC officer. Do you want to do it?’ I had no idea what that meant, but I said, ‘Sure, I’ll take it on,’” Robertson recalls.  

Leading with humility and taking the time to listen 

After successfully developing the bank’s first BSA and sanctions programs, Robertson spent the next 17 years serving as the institution’s executive vice president (EVP) and director of AML compliance and growing a one-person department into a robust team of 45. By 2020, Robertson was ready for a new challenge, and joined Richmond, Virginia-based Atlantic Union Bank as senior vice president and financial investigations unit director. Robertson spent more than three years helping the bank implement leadership for and improve its BSA and OFAC programs.  

Today, Robertson is the EVP, BSA officer, and director of financial crimes compliance at Blue Ridge Bank, headquartered in Richmond. And once again, she is tasked with overseeing AML program transformation after being hired to assist the bank in responding to a consent order. “The OCC’s order was officially issued about a week after I entered the role,” Robertson says. “I worked fast to bring in a great leadership team, and we’ve since been able to successfully work through the issues outlined in the order.” 

Since diving head first into an AML compliance career, Robertson has developed a leadership philosophy that is centered on trust, humility, and collaboration. “You cannot be threatened by people who are smarter than you,” she says. “I always look for leaders who strengthen my weaknesses.”  

Robertson has also learned to view workplace conflict through a different lens than she did early in her career. Given the nature of the job, she says she often clashed with strong personalities before realizing that what she thought was defensiveness was really passion. That revelation has since helped Robertson approach disagreements as opportunities for collaboration rather than confrontation.  

Listening is also critical in her role. “When you work in AML compliance, people immediately think you’re going to tell them they can’t do something because it’s too risky,” Robertson says. “So, while that may be true, and you may not even be able to meet in the middle, you need to listen, show them you care, and make them feel like they have a voice. I’ve found I can accomplish a lot with this approach.” 

Championing the AML function as a “cost-save” center 

For Robertson, one of the most persistent and frustrating misconceptions about the AML function is that it’s a cost center. “I always tell people that we’re a cost-save center,” she says. “Here’s why: If there’s not a true culture of compliance from the top down, you end up spending more money to clean things up—paying people to work exceptions and closing accounts that should never have been opened.” 

Her advice: Invest in skilled AML talent upfront. “Hire one person with the right skill set and pay them a little more instead of hiring five people who earn less, but can’t accomplish much.” As for skills to look for in candidates, Robertson says critical thinking tops the list. “You also need people who can do research, make confident decisions, and work independently,” she says. 

Robertson emphasizes that creating a culture of compliance in financial institutions also requires investing in and acknowledging the efforts of frontline employees. “A lot of the gaps in AML programs stem from the lack of education and accountability,” she says. “You have to invest in your people.” 

At South State Bank, Robertson regularly presented at teller school, branch manager school, and commercial lending school to help build awareness about AML compliance. “I wanted people to understand that what they do matters,” she says. “They are the face of the bank to customers.”  

Robertson also makes the point to thank frontline staff when audits and exams go well, reminding them that their daily diligence contributes directly to those results.  

Recruiting technology specialists for the AML team 

Like many in her field, Robertson is closely watching how technology is transforming the work of AML teams. For example, screening tools powered by AI and machine learning are helping to weed out false positives, freeing investigators to focus on meaningful alerts.  

“The mission of a financial crimes team is to create a really good package to send to law enforcement,” Robertson says. “You don’t want skilled people wasting time on false positives—you want them building strong cases that will actually be picked up.” 

AI and contextual monitoring are also helping analysts identify connections and patterns in data that rules-only systems might miss. However, Robertson cautions banks against viewing technology as a replacement for people: “There still needs to be a human who has their eyes on everything.” 

Robertson is also a proponent of bringing dedicated technology specialists into the AML function. “You can’t rely on the bank’s core IT or security team because they don’t understand AML,” she says. “You need professionals who know how alerts are written, how to do above- and below-the-line testing, and how to evaluate systems.” 

Calling for greater collaboration—and amplifying the voice of BSA officers 

Robertson’s view that the AML field is an “awesome” place to work has only deepened after decades of helping banks develop and improve AML compliance programs. That said, she is still eager to see improvement on many fronts—starting with better industry collaboration.  

“Consortium data and collaboration are key, especially in fighting fraud. But what good is Section 314(b) information sharing if there’s no mandate to participate, and no requirement to respond?” Robertson asks. “If we don’t figure that piece out, big banks won’t feel the need to respond to small banks, and we’ll continue to see siloed approaches.” 

Robertson says she’d also like to see more BSA officers provided a seat at the bank’s executive table. “The chief compliance officer, the chief credit officer—these roles are part of the executive team. But too often, the BSA officer is an afterthought unless there’s a problem,” she explains. “BSA officers deserve a stronger voice at the executive level. Their position can make or break the bank. If you have BSA issues, you can’t grow, you can’t add products or services, and you can’t expand.”