New York-listed First Republic Bank, a private bank and wealth management firm, has brought in Bill Ward as executive vice president and chief BSA/AML and security officer.

New York-listed First Republic Bank, a private bank and wealth management firm, has brought in Bill Ward as executive vice president, chief of BSA/AML and security officer.

Ward has 14 years of experience in senior executive roles overseeing fraud prevention, anti-money laundering and matters relating to the Bank Secrecy Act.

The aim of the BSA (1970) is to prevent financial institutions from being used by criminals to hide or launder ill-gotten gains. It requires banks and other financial institution to document transactions that involve substantial sums of money ($10,000 or more) and appear to be suspicious (although the BSA has a list of documentation exceptions.)

Prior to joining First Republic, Ward spent seven years as executive vice president, chief BSA/AML and security officer at Union Bank in San Francisco, CA, having previously worked in law enforcement for 17 years.

Founded in 1985, First Republic and its subsidiaries offer private banking, private business banking and private wealth management, including investment, trust and brokerage services.