Federal regulators of anti-money laundering rules issued 16 percent more enforcement actions in 2015 than in the previous year, a jump due in part to an intensified focus on nonbank firms.
Sometimes a decline in bank enforcement actions isn't a good thing, even for bankers. Such is the takeaway of a review of enforcement action data spanning back five years, during which the number of formal Bank Secrecy Act penalties fell nearly 20 percent while fines and regulatory demands grew.
In the messy art of prognostication, everything is overly easy and nothing exact, not even compliance expectations. But one thing government officials and financial industry representatives seem certain of: 2015 will prove just as challenging as the past year for AML professionals.
Large banks need to clearly delineate which senior executives are responsible for Bank Secrecy Act compliance violations, the U.S. Comptroller of the Currency said in a speech Monday.
The U.S. Treasury Department can expedite civil monetary penalties against financial institutions that violate the Bank Secrecy Act and other rules tied to safety and soundness, under guidelines proposed Thursday.
Relative to the year before, the anti-money laundering (AML) compliance industry drew few headlines over the past 12 months, and yet no one would tell you their job got any easier.
Recent regulatory guidance on banks use of consultants for anti-money laundering remediation work places a renewed focus on the personal connections that can affect the independence of consultants, according to compliance professionals.
Penny stock fraud and soon-to-be introduced customer due diligence regulations should be foremost on the minds of compliance officers at small securities firms, believes Kenneth Cherrier, senior vice president and chief supervisory officer at Overland, KS-based Waddell & Reed, Inc.
Though none can predict the future, one thing in the AML world seems certain: the jobs of compliance officers won't get any easier in 2013.