At this point last year, few would've bet that 2016 would end with the United Kingdom preparing to leave the European Union, Donald Trump measuring the drapes in the White House or Bob Dylan joining the ranks of Nobel laureates. But as someone once said about the times, they change. This proved just as true for anti-money laundering and sanctions compliance officers, who found themselves grappling throughout the year with evolving regulatory expectations as governments sought to address so-called "de-risking" while simultaneously outlining stricter standards for customer due diligence. That uncertainty was to be a theme of the year emerged...
Even absent a crystal ball to peer into, it seems safe to say that any changes the financial sector sees in the year ahead won't include a walk-back of anti-money laundering requirements.
The year has hardly begun and already some of its biggest challenges for compliance departments seem evident: contending with expected rules on customer due diligence, evolving sanctions obligations and the U.S. Justice Department's emphasis on individual liability.
The potential liability faced by bank professionals, particularly compliance officers, for regulatory violations has been a recurring theme at ACAMS conferences in 2015, and there's no reason to think it will be any less of an issue in 2016.
Despite the dress that changes colors depending on your eyes and the record-breaking sales of one recent example of nostalgic moviemaking, 2015 is more likely to be remembered by the financial sector for the tragic terrorist attacks that bookended it.
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