Compliance teams are under increasing pressure to reduce risk and drive financial crime out of their institutions with limited resources.
AML
Posted inEthics & Culture
BoA a silver lining in damning ‘FinCEN Files’ report; Wells Fargo CEO puts foot in mouth
Bank of America gets a pat on the back for going beyond an “observe and report” approach to filing a SAR, and we learned this week that Wells Fargo’s CEO needs a little unconscious bias training.
Posted inEurope
‘FinCEN Files’ show Europe’s AML efforts maybe aren’t so world class
The damning revelations from the “FinCEN Files” leaks have once again put Europe and its supposed world-leading anti-money laundering rules under the spotlight.
Posted inRegulatory Enforcement
Westpac set to pay record $912.6M civil penalty for AML failures
Westpac is bracing for a record AUD$1.3 billion (U.S. $912.6 million) civil penalty issued by Australia’s financial crime regulator related to a money-laundering scandal and the facilitation of child exploitation in the Philippines and Southeast Asia.
Posted inInternal Controls
‘FinCEN Files’ fallout: Where do banks go from here?
The “FinCEN Files” report raises the question: What should banks be doing to address the trillions of dollars’ worth of banking transactions that are facilitating criminal activity every year?
Posted inRisk Management
FinCEN leaks impart key lessons on basics of writing SARs
Martin Woods, who has analyzed many of the suspicious activity reports released as part of the “FinCEN Files,” offers best practices for compliance officers in writing SARs.
Posted inInternal Controls
‘FinCEN Files’ highlight bank leadership flaws, not compliance flaws
Compliance has been taking some heat in the wake of the “FinCEN Files” reports, but it’s banks’ senior leadership that failed, not the folks filing all those SARs.
Posted inAML
FinCEN leaks damage trust between banks and regulators, but serve higher purpose
The “FinCEN Files” leaks divided opinions within the community of financial crime compliance officers. Trust has been damaged, writes Martin Woods, but these leaks could facilitate real reform.
Posted inInternal Controls
‘FinCEN Files’ report casts compliance officers in unfair light
The BuzzFeed “FinCEN Files” investigation purportedly uncovered evidence of a catastrophic, international collapse of internal controls within the world banking system. But that argument is misleading, to the point of being disingenuous.
Posted inEurope
Swedbank being investigated for suspected market abuse
Swedbank announced the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority has opened an investigation into the bank for potential violations of the regulation on market abuse in connection to the disclosure of suspected money laundering.
