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Banks Getting Message on AML Risk Assessments, FDIC’s Arquette Says

Federally-insured banks are getting the message about the importance of doing their own anti-money laundering risk assessments, says Lisa Arquette, associate director of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s (FDIC) Anti-Money Laundering and Financial Crimes Branch. While a risk assessment isn't mandatory, Arquette noted that the expectations outlined in the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council's (FFIEC) Bank Secrecy Act/Anti-Money Laundering Examination Manual are taking root. "When we first issued this manual and the risk assessment became an expectation in the BSA compliance area, we were conducting the risk assessment about 80 percent of the time," says Arquette. "That was a lot,...

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