News
Bank Examiners Looking Closer at Regional Compliance Staff: Official
By Brian Monroe
printUPDATE: Adds a comment in the 11th paragraph from an HSBC spokesman on the company's regional compliance officer. Two cease-and-desist orders against a London-based financial institution are highlighting a growing concern among U.S. regulators: how banks structure their national compliance staff, say industry professionals. In the Oct. 7 orders, the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and the Federal Reserve called on HSBC to hire a "qualified, permanent regional compliance officer" as part of a broad revision of its anti-money laundering (AML) program. The bank is separately facing a large, potential fine from the U.S....
TO READ THE FULL STORY
Related News
Financial institutions continue to struggle with hiring effective Bank Secrecy Act officers, allocating sufficient compliance resources and employing adequate internal controls, U.S. regulators said Tuesday.
The United States should more frequently blacklist foreign financial institutions that flout American sanctions barring Iranian oil sales, a lawmaker said Tuesday.
U.S. lawmakers called for testimony from federal investigators Thursday as part of an effort to push for more aggressive punishment of individuals and financial institutions that aid money launderers and sanctions dodgers.
High-profile sanctions cases are spurring large banks and third-party software vendors to improve how they identify when counterparts and clients secretly act on behalf of blacklisted entities, say compliance experts.
Criticisms of the U.S. Justice Department's apparent decision to forego indictments of HSBC and its employees misses a larger point: the department probably couldn't have won convictions if it tried, say prosecutors.
The U.S. regulator of national banks is reviewing how it will penalize so-called "pillar violations" of anti-money laundering laws after the agency revamped its enforcement policies ahead of congressional criticism.
Expected criminal and civil settlements over anti-money laundering lapses will likely cost HSBC Bank USA $1.5 billion or "significantly" more, the financial institution said in a regulatory filing Monday.
In the wake of a high-profile congressional hearing, more than a dozen large financial institutions have amended how they share information with affiliate institutions in bank secrecy havens, say compliance professionals.
A newly implemented plan by HSBC Holdings Plc to export U.S. anti-money laundering standards to its global offices faces a difficult but common challenge for big banks: approximately half of its estimated 80 affiliates are located in bank secrecy jurisdictions.
Plans by the U.S. regulator of large banks to link anti-money laundering violations with federal insurance rates will likely translate into more resources and responsibilities for compliance staff, say Bank Secrecy Act officers.
The Netherlands is considering a number of measures to boost its confiscation of illicit proceeds, Bangladesh's central bank said that it has launched an investigation into two Islamic banks for alleged terrorist financing violations, and more, in this week's roundup.
Most news accounts of Tuesday's U.S. Senate inquiry into HSBC Holding Plc's compliance failings led with the bank's anti-money laundering compliance chief's announced resignation before lawmakers. But what he meant, it turns out, is that he is only taking another job inside the bank.
Poor anti-money laundering controls on affiliates and problematic oversight allowed a global bank to process tens of trillions of dollars with little to no compliance checks, according to a U.S. Senate subcommittee.
FinCEN will hold a public hearing on July 31 to discuss potential beneficial ownership-related due diligence rules, German tax authorities searched the homes of Credit Suisse clients over alleged tax evasion charges, and more, in the midweek roundup.
U.S. senators will question representatives from HSBC Holdings Plc and its financial regulator next Tuesday over the findings of an unreleased report outlining concerns about the bank's anti-money laundering compliance program.
The EU imposed sanctions on six individuals who are responsible for leading a recent coup d'état in Guinea-Bissau, Gaddafi's family members transferred approximately $1.97 million in stolen government funds to its embassy in Brussels last year, and more, in this week's roundup.
The U.S. Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve issued separate enforcement actions Thursday against HSBC North America Holdings Inc. for systemic Bank Secrecy Act compliance violations.
The U.S. Justice Department is seeking to fine HSBC USA as much as $500 million for anti-money laundering compliance problems, an amount that would be the largest-ever penalty for such violations, say individuals familiar with the investigation.
HSBC USA is restructuring its compliance department in the wake of the disclosure last week that the bank is bracing for a potential fine over Bank Secrecy Act and sanctions violations.
The United States is investigating the U.S. operations of New York-based HSBC USA Inc. for potential Bank Secrecy Act and sanctions violations, the bank said in regulatory filings released Tuesday.