Leading A Team Of Talented And Dedicated Professionals
Sarmin Erina, Vice President, Software and Systems Quality in Merchant Servicing and Settlement of Bank of America, is leading a team of talented and dedicated professionals, this banking executive’s experience in anti-money laundering and passion for inclusive culture make Bank of America’s Plano location a great place to work. With a strong focus on digital and physical integration and a commitment to employee growth, she sets a high bar for effective leadership.
Bank of America (BoFA) is a well-known and reliable name in the banking industry, known not only for its excellent services but also for its inclusive culture and philanthropic initiatives. As the Vice President of Software and System Quality in Merchant Servicing and Settlement, based in Plano, TX, Sarmin is leading a responsible team and facing daily challenges that she took on passionately. The team’s support and cooperation make her job interesting and enjoyable.
She has been working with Bank of America for over six years, working alongside some of the most amazing colleagues. The sense of community we have established made becoming a team leader seamless. She thoroughly enjoys learning about each team member’s passions and objectives, both personal and professional. We share our successes and failures, take ownership, and communicate what we have learned from each other. This approach helps the team grow and feel comfortable thinking outside the box to solve problems. “I am fortunate to lead a group of talented, detailed, professional, and fun individuals who make work enjoyable,” Sarmin said.
Before taking up her current role, she worked in Anti Money Laundering (AML), giving her solid experience in interacting with various backgrounds and teams. This experience prepared her solidly for her current role. Being a finance and banking postgraduate with a technology background, the most important factors in her consideration were how much the organization is willing to expose a finance and banking tech person to their daily operations and whether they have future growth opportunities.
Payments and Settlement Lines of Business is a sensitive area for most organizations. I jumped on the opportunity to join Bank of America’s Plano location when I found out that they were offering such a good position. This role has given me an opportunity to explore the different disciplines in banking and tech leadership positions within the organization with robust controls in place. Bank of America is an organization worth working for because it can invoke such passion in its people.
The integration of digital and physical is core to what we do and how we deliver our products and services to the consumer base. It allows us to provide a great client experience, be consistent and tight on how we interact with our clients, and make us more efficient as a company. It is a crucial part of what we do, and the partnership with our financial centers and specialists is where we will differentiate ourselves from our competitors. The focus of delivering a great client experience comes from our physical and digital infrastructures, and the combination of these two is where we believe we will differentiate ourselves. The pandemic was a real accelerator for digital because it got clients who were hesitant to use digital to do so. We have a lot of great momentum behind it.
Early in her career, so many people took the opportunity and time to invest in her, and the best advice was really that the folks helped her to find her voice. Having people around you builds your confidence, helps you find your voice and helps you pull along. Learning to lead and manage people effectively was a great learning experience. Sarmin had many role models that were important to me while she was learning to lead and manage people. Sometimes they told her things that she did not want to hear, but she needed to hear. That’s what is essential about professional mentors and coaches. You have people around you who give you advice from their hearts and are so invested in you!
Sarmin started her career just like many other people. She graduated from the University of Dhaka, Department of Finance and Banking, and started working as an associate at a non-profit organization, JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency). A few years later, she came to the USA for her career pursuit and worked at a tax firm, doing taxes for individuals and corporations. She got to learn a lot, and during that time, there weren’t many women in the field. However, she persevered, and Sarmin is proud of the woman she has become.
She has two fun facts. One is that she loves to dance. The second one is a newer passion: organizing closets, rooms, pantries- any place you name it, she simply love organizing it.
We know that when women thrive, our families, communities and economies thrive. And when the opportunities for women and girls around the world are limitless, the future will be brighter and more prosperous for all of us. With that, in mind, Bank of America has always been very supportive to women employees. Not only our employees but also women entrepreneurs as well.
Noman Khan is the Editor-in-Chief & CEO of Gaznobay.
