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Empowering Your Board: How Detailed AML/CFT & Sanctions Reporting Mitigates Risk
Inadequate AML/CFT and Sanctions oversight exposes institutions to significant regulatory sanctions, reputational harm, and financial penalties.Risk-focused, actionable reporting is essential to helping Boards mitigate these threats and reinforce compliance To empower the Board to fulfill its oversight responsibilities, the AML/CFT and Sanctions Compliance Officer plays a critical role. By adopting a strategic approach to reporting,…
Read MoreIndependent Reviews: Avoiding Traps and Achieving Value
Independent reviews are a pillar of a strong, risk-based AML/CFT and Sanctions Compliance compliance program. They offer an impartial evaluation, pinpointing areas for improvement and ensuring a financial institution’s program effectively mitigates risks. However, if these reviews become checklist exercises focused on appearances rather than true effectiveness, they can create a dangerous illusion. This “form…
Read MoreIncreasing Focus on Risk Management at Major Financial Institutions in the US
In this article, we’re focusing on what’s happening in the United States, particularly on various regulators’ increasing emphasis on risk management capabilities at major financial institutions. According to an unofficial source close to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, an internal report leaked to Bloomberg alleges that 11 of the 22 large banks…
Read MoreCompliance as a Strategic Investment
Introduction Is your financial institution overlooking its greatest asset? In today’s competitive market, many companies undervalue the role of compliance. Financial services companies – whether banks, traditional MSBs, or innovative FinTechs – often become blinded by competition, enamoured with rapid growth, market size, and the allure of capturing market share and growing revenue. The financial…
Read MoreCornerstone and Foundation: How Governance and Risk Assessment Fortify Your BSA/AML and OFAC Program
Your BSA/AML and OFAC compliance program needs a guiding structure and a robust foundation in order to stand tall, be strong and prove resilient against the evils of financial crime, money laundering and terrorist financing. That’s where governance and risk assessment come in. Think of them as the cornerstone and foundation of your compliance program,…
Read MoreRisk Assessment: The Bedrock of Financial Services Compliance
In the current competitive and fast changing landscape of the financial services industry, effective risk assessment often gets relegated to the backburner and is overshadowed by desires to build fast and break things, capture as much market and mind share as possible, and grow income quickly to minimize capital burn and prove the business model. …
Read MoreProliferation Financing risks: What businesses need to know
Proliferation Financing (PF) forms part of the compliance landscape, like anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing (AML/CTF). However, it’s only recently that regulators have started to introduce tighter measures to help businesses identify PF risks. The UK is currently leading the way. And with an increased focus worldwide on enhancing risk regulatory measures, it’s likely that…
Read More7 tips for your next Independent Review of the AML/CTF Program
An independent review of the anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorism financing (CTF) program helps assess an organisation’s compliance process to ensure whether it is meeting its legal and regulatory requirements. An independent review can also be a great way of identifying any potential weaknesses to help organisations update their compliance protocols and reduce risks, before…
Read MoreReviewing the UK’s AML/CTF regulatory and supervisory regime
Global financial systems are under significant threat from money laundering and terrorist financing, with the United Nations estimating that the amount of money laundered worldwide annually is between 2% to 5% of global GDP, equating between USD$800 million and USD$2 trillion. However, given the illicit nature of money laundering it is virtually impossible to estimate…
Read MoreThe three most common challenges compliance professionals face conducting their enterprise-wide financial crime risk assessments
Are you interested in digitising or automating your financial crime risk assessment? We speak to a lot of risk and compliance professionals who are responsible for conducting their enterprise-wide financial crime risk assessments. The three most common challenges we hear are: We have unpacked each of these three common challenges and explain how our solutions…
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