ASEAN-member countries are working toward reforming and integrating individual countries’ capital markets, financial services, and payments and settlements systems. Improving intra-ASEAN payment and settlement systems (PSS) is fundamental to cross-border trade and vital to attracting increased direct foreign investment (DFI). This article explores some core benefits of an integrated and standardised payment and settlement system in ASEAN, as well as the challenges member countries need to address while embarking on this pan-ASEAN initiative.
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While different institutions assign varying risk weights to higher-risk geographies, industries and products, there is no common global definition of who should be considered a Politically Exposed Person (PEP). This whitepaper talks about how companies should manage PEP lists.
In order for a financial institution to guarantee full compliance it needs to examine every transaction that flows through the institution. This is a formidable task. Auditors, therefore, have recommended using a riskbased approach. While this is effective in targeting the riskiest items for review, many institutions using such an approach are still faced with a large number of “flagged” transactions that must be reviewed.This article examines methods for reducing the amount of false positives, thereby increasing the chance for an institution to find a true match.
Institutions looking to enhance their current Sanctions Compliance Programme should typically consider elements beyond just implementing a technology solution. There are additional elements to a successful Sanctions Compliance programme – Policy & Procedure, Risk Profile, People and Information.
Compliance processing, in general, and watch list screening, in particular, is a process of finding a very small number of truly suspicious items from a larger population of possible matches. It is very much like trying to find the proverbial “needle in the haystack.” By designing screening data and processes effectively, fewer unnecessary matches are generated. In addition, good data design makes it easier to implement False Positive Rules.
On 29th May 2012, BankersAccuity held its second annual complimentary London Breakfast Briefing, "Onboarding with confidence", attracting 90 delegates from both banks and corporates in EMEA.
Today, corporate treasury professionals face a greater set of challenges than ever before. Reduced liquidity and enhanced volatility means firms must manage cash and financial risk more efficiently, while higher costs, fewer resources and more complex transactions require greater transparency and control to drive better financial results.
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Don't leave your FCPA and UK Bribery ACT compliance program to chance. Discover best practices for managing anti-bribery and corruption compliance.
How insurance firms can minimize anti-money laundering and sanctions risk throughout the policy and payment lifecycle
Rory Keelan has a wealth of experience in the assessment of banks in emerging markets. Now a senior credit analyst at Capital Intelligence, he answers questions on bank credit analysis in emerging markets:
This Guidance takes into account a number of recent developments and gives tailored advice to international financial institutions in support of their efforts to develop appropriate Anti-Corruption programmes, to combat and mitigate bribery risks associated with clients or transactions and also to prevent internal bribery.
Late last year, the James Mintz Group released an interactive Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) violations map highlighting all of the bribery "hot spots" broken down by industry.
Bruce Gomme is a Managing Director at UBS Investment bank and is responsible for EMEA Emerging Market counterparty exposures.
Rupert Rogers is Head of Market, Counterparty and Capital Risk at Saudi Hollandi Bank and is responsible for global counterparty exposures.
This article has been provided by PRMIA. Established in 2002 by a volunteer group of risk industry professionals, the Professional Risk Managers' International Association (PRMIA) is a non-profit professional association, whose aim is to provide a free and open forum for the promotion of sound risk management standards and practices globally.
As the slow march to a standardised, cross-border payment system throughout the European community and elsewhere moves forward, observers and participants across the industry spectrum continue to cast a wary eye on the multitude of challenges that remain.
The Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) Project was conceived through a high-powered political process and has been loosely backed by EU Regulations.
No matter where you look within the payment processing value chain, rapid technological advances and large-scale regulatory initiatives are working to transform the payments industry.
The political tension in the Middle East has had unprecedented effects on governments in Tunisia and Egypt. As these governments have been forced out of office the presidents and their family members have been added to sanctions lists, which require their assets to be frozen.
As we continue to look back on the tragic events of September 11, 2001, it's no wonder that those in our industry might consider the state of regulatory compliance and AML/CTF screening both then and now.
Read more about our Compliance Breakfast Briefing: On-boarding with confidence, London 2011
The Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) Project was conceived through a high-powered political process and has been loosely backed by EU Regulations. Breathing life into the concept demanded the wholehearted commitment of both the private and public sectors to drive the original SEPA vision to its fruition. The banking industry’s role, under the mandate of the European authorities, was to design and develop a single set of harmonised SEPA payment schemes
This Paper is the second in a series about the development of SEPA and the regulatory approach being adopted by the European Commission to drive the project and ultimately make SEPA a reality.
An IBAN is a string of characters and numbers which consists of a country code, a check digit and up to 30 account-specific alphanumeric characters that contain the bank or branch code as well as the account number. Each country’s banking authority is responsible for defining the length of this last portion of the IBAN, which is called the Basic Bank Account Number, or BBAN.
No matter where you look within the payment processing value chain, rapid technological advances and large-scale regulatory initiatives are working to transform the payments industry. That means for financial institutions and larger corporates alike, challenges and opportunities abound.
In a recent article published by the Association for Financial Professionals (AFP), Gerard Hartsink, chairman of the European Payments Council, confirms the view of most in Europe that the December 2010 announcement regarding the SEPA end date gives a clear path to mass migration. It also should push banks and corporate to modify systems and convert data to become SEPA compliant.
Since the emergence of software systems to screen payment messages against sanctions lists in the 1990’s there has been a constant struggle between ensuring compliance with global sanctions regimes as well as demonstrating increases in payment efficiency.
This Guidance replaces the Wolfsberg Statement against Corruption issued by the Wolfsberg Group* in 2007. Transparency International and the Basel Institute on Governance have been closely involved in the development of this Guidance, which aims to:
“Best practice on-boarding counterparty bank relationships, how we do what we do, why we do what we do and what do we look for both at SDD and EDD stages?”
Questions sometimes arise with regard to Introducing Intermediaries (sometimes referred to as “finders” or prospectors”), Managing Intermediaries (sometimes referred to as “external asset managers”), and holders of powers of attorney/authorised signers, as those terms are used in paragraphs 1.2.4 and 1.2.5 of the Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Principles for Private Banking. Some of the questions, as well as the answers are, noted below.
As bedrocks of national and international commerce, insurance companies have an obligation to comply with the federal and global anti-money laundering (AML), bribery and trade sanctions laws that apply to the financial services industry as a whole. With the industry undergoing a sea of change in regulation, it is more critical than ever that regulators and compliance professionals be aware of the entire regulatory landscape.
The following Principles are understood to be appropriate for private banking relationships. Principles for other market segments may differ.
Questions sometimes arise with regard to the term “beneficial ownership” as used in the Anti-Money Laundering Principles (AML) for Private Banking (the “Principles”). Some of these questions, as well as answers, are noted below.
Compliance processing, in general, and watch list screening,in particular, is a process of finding a very small number of truly suspicious items from a larger population of possible matches. It is very much like trying to find the proverbial “needle in the haystack.”
The complexity of today’s global, distributed and dynamic business makes regulatory compliance a challenge—particularly for anti-bribery and corruption. The larger the firm, the more complex its interactions with external entities (e.g., government, regulators, contractors, vendors and other third parties), around the world.
In order for a financial institution to guarantee full compliance it needs to examine every transaction that flows through the institution. This is a formidable task. Auditors, therefore, have recommended using a riskbased approach. While this is effective in targeting the riskiest items for review, many institutions using such an approach are still faced with a large number of “flagged” transactions that must be reviewed.
Today, bank compliance departments are under greater pressure than ever before. As the global economy struggles to recover, many banks are experiencing decreasing budgets and fewer resources dedicated to compliance functions.
Bruce Gomme is a Managing Director at UBS Investment bank and is responsible for EMEA Emerging Market counterparty exposures. He has a wealth of experience in the credit risk analysis and management of a wide range of financial institutions and corporates.
Rupert Rogers is Head of Market, Counterparty and Capital Risk at Saudi Hollandi Bank and is responsible for global counterparty exposures. He has extensive experience in counterparty risk management gained from working both with and in Emerging Markets.
The financial services industry today consists of monstrously complex global financial institutions ... systemically important ... too big to fail ... even too complex to manage! Regulators are focused on observing systemic risk in these giant, global institutions.
Rory Keelan has a wealth of experience in the assessment of banks in emerging markets. Now a senior credit analyst at Capital Intelligence, he shares his insight and experience, answering questions on bank credit analysis in emerging markets:
Counterparty analysis is a fundamental part of the credit risk activity of modern banks and financial institutions. However, it does not stop there: any entity entering into a transaction with another entity which involves taking credit or other risk, must ensure that proper analysis is carried out on that entity.
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