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In Low-Risk Assessments, Examiners and Compliance Officers Rarely See Eye-to-Eye
By Brian Monroe
printIn every longstanding relationship, there comes a point when both parties begin to question something they once thought they had agreed on. Talk to a Bank Secrecy Act officer at a conference, over dinner or in a bar and one point of friction with federal regulators inevitably becomes clear. "It doesn't feel like a risk-based system anymore," said an anti-money laundering (AML) compliance officer with regulatory experience, who believes that federal examiners have increasingly demanded that banks implement the same due diligence procedures for low-risk clients that they previously demanded only for medium- and high-risk clients. In interviews conducted for...
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U.S. national banks must formally declare their risk limits and ensure the independence of their boards of directors, the Treasury Department ruled Thursday.
If you aren't certain that the Bank Secrecy Act job market is unusually active these days, ask anyone who has recently taken an executive position in a compliance department facing regulatory scrutiny. The message they're hearing: move quickly or move out of the way.
A number of large U.S. and international banks are dropping customer accounts and services tied to high-risk geographical regions and lines of business in response to regulatory pressure, including enforcement actions.
A Switzerland-based nonprofit group Wednesday released what it's calling the first independent ranking of countries for anti-money laundering and financial crime risks, based on 12 national and nongovernmental indices.
A U.S. Treasury Department division charged with reviewing how financial institutions make use of complex risk models has begun asking questions about how companies calculate money laundering risks.
When monitoring for financial frauds, banks should establish a clear line of communication between their Bank Secrecy Act compliance departments and risk management groups, says James Tendick, a former investigator with the U.S. Justice Department and U.S. Postal Service.
Finding themselves locked out of some large U.S. banks because of compliance concerns, third-party payment processors are increasingly turning to small- and mid-sized institutions for financial services, say consultants.
Compliance officers face challenges anytime two financial institutions merge. But when one bank buys up the assets and the problems of a failed competitor, the hurdles can exponentially increase.
Since 2008, federal financial regulators have increasingly quizzed compliance staff about such scenarios in an effort to determine how banks are distinguishing their low-, moderate- and high-risk clients, according to bank officials.
While high-dollar cash transactions can be at risk for money laundering, placing limits on cash deposits or prohibiting them altogether isn't financially feasible for many institutions.
Few small financial firms in the U.K. have adequate anti-money laundering and sanctions compliance programs, including enhanced due diligence controls for high-risk clients, Britain's top financial regulator said Monday.
Contending with a lengthy recession, some U.S. banks have fallen behind on their core anti-money laundering compliance duties, including risk ranking customers and reporting suspicious activity, say federal officials.
An upcoming federal interagency examination manual will include details on how banks should react to law enforcement data requests as well as monitor for bulk cash smuggling, according to regulators.
Banks that financed deals with subsidiaries of a blacklisted Beijing-based weapons manufacturer are likely to face increased scrutiny from the U.S. Treasury Department's sanctions enforcement arm, say analysts.
The Financial Action Task Force reiterated its call Monday for anti-money laundering controls by life insurance companies in a report outlining how the industry can apply risk-based checks.
Banks should look closely at the anti-money laundering risks of some of their political action committee clients as Congress considers legislative recommendations to combat campaign finance abuses, say consultants.
Like pharmaceuticals, new financial instruments should be thoroughly tested for risks before allowed on the market, according to Paul Kay, president of PMK Advisory, a Convent Station, New Jersey-based consultancy.
Gauging the vulnerability of money service businesses' agents to being used to launder money or finance terrorism is central to adopting a risk-based approach to compliance, according to a global watchdog report released Monday.
The Web site eStandardsForum saves you both time and money.
Too few countries attempt to gauge their risks of money laundering and terrorist financing, an intergovernmental organization that issues guidance on how to combat the crimes said Monday.