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Sanctions Settlements Prompt Changes to Transaction Monitoring
By Brian Monroe
printHigh-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. The efforts, which center largely on how banks automatically filter international wire transactions, come in the wake of nearly $5 billion in sanctions-related settlements paid by ten banks since 2009. On Monday, HSBC Holdings Plc said its net profit for last year fell 17 percent, in part due to a $1.9 billion settlement paid in December for anti-money laundering and sanctions violations. To avoid such penalties, the largest international financial...
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