Sonia Pena
Liberty
Summary
Summary Operations professional with 25+ years in banking operations and client service. Recognized for resolving 20+ cases daily with same-day turnaround, including deposit corrections, journal reconciliations, and dispute investigations for mutual fund and high-profile clients. Strengths include exception research, cross-functional coordination, procedure development, compliance support (BSA/AML awareness), and team mentorship.
Overview
26
26
years of professional experience
Work History
Senior Operations Associate
UMB Bank
Kansas City, MO
08.2000 - 02.2026
- Resolved 20+ client and branch cases per day with same-day turnaround, including deposit corrections and dispute cases opened by branches.
- Performed deposit corrections and adjustments to ensure accurate posting and balanced customer and general ledger accounts.
- Reconciled GL journals on a weekly and monthly cadence; researched out-of-balance conditions and cleared exceptions to maintain accurate ledgers.
- Cleared monthly suspense accounts the same day they were identified, minimizing aged items and ensuring timely financial reporting.
- Investigated and resolved disputes by gathering documentation, reviewing transactions, and coordinating decisions with internal teams in line with policies and SLAs.
- Conducted transaction audits and exception research; documented findings and maintained complete audit trails.
- Developed and refined procedures and checklists that reduced processing time and lowered rework.
- Partnered with Risk/Compliance to ensure adherence to bank policies and regulatory standards; supported BSA/AML awareness and documentation.
- Trained and mentored new associates; created step-by-step guides that shortened ramp-up time.
- Handled inquiries from mutual fund clients and high-profile accounts (e.g., Merrill Lynch) with timely, professional communication.
- Collaborated across operations, client service, and technology to triage issues quickly and prevent recurrence.
- Balanced workloads during peak periods to preserve accuracy and turnaround times.
- Role focused on operations and service; no sales responsibilities.
- Improved turnaround on deposit corrections, disputes, and suspense items through a same-day case workflow, reducing backlog and increasing accuracy.
- Streamlined recurring exception-resolution steps, helping cut average handling time.
Education
High School Diploma -
East High School
Kansas City, MO05.1988
Skills
- Banking operations, reconciliations, exception management
- Deposit corrections, journal reconcilement, dispute research/resolution
- Weekly/monthly GL reconcilement; monthly suspense account clearance (same day)
- Transaction auditing, case research, quality control
- Client case management, same-day turnaround, SLA adherence
- Compliance support and documentation (BSA/AML awareness)
- Client service for mutual fund and institutional accounts
- Process improvement and SOP development
- Training, mentoring, and team coordination
- Scheduling, workflow management
- Data entry, records management, MS Office (Excel), SharePoint
- Communication, problem solving, attention to detail
Websites
Tools & Training
- Systems/Platforms: FIS, Fiserv, Fedline, Endpoint Exchange, ViewPoint, SharePoint, Microsoft Excel
- Compliance & Training: BSA and AML awareness; internal compliance modules
Timeline
Senior Operations Associate
UMB Bank
08.2000 - 02.2026
High School Diploma -
East High School