State-run Hua Nan Commercial Bank (華南) on Wednesday and yesterday held an overseas chief compliance officers’ (CCO) forum with chairman Wu Tang-chieh (吳當傑), saying that it assigns great importance to the issue.
The lender first held the forum last year, making it the first state-run bank to hold such an event. It later announced plans to hold the forum annually.
The bank said it aims to enhance legal compliance, risk management, revenue growth and sustainable development.
Photo courtesy of Hua Nan Commercial Bank
Former Financial Crimes Enforcement Network Office of Compliance and Enforcement interim director Gregory Lisa told the forum how to build compliance and a culture around anti-money laundering (AML).
CCOs from the bank’s 13 overseas branches in Asia, Europe, the Americas and Australia shared how they comply with AML regulatory trends and business planning in their jurisdictions, and facilitated exchanges of opinions across branches.
Bank board members, supervisors and general managers also attended the forum to share the latest trends in AML and ways to combat terrorism financing in the global context, as well as how to comply with regulations.
Overseas CCOs also shared their practical experiences in complying with AML regulations.
Legal compliance is built step-by-step on top of a solid foundation, Wu said.
The bank endeavors to catch up with international standards, build a tone-from-the-top compliance regime and a bottom-up communication channel, he added.
It has also applied a risk-based approach to identify risks and adopt preventive measures with an aim to become a bellwether for Taiwan in AML and international compliance solutions, the bank said.
During the third round of the Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering’s mutual evaluation in November last year, the bank was evaluated on behalf of the nation.
Under Wu’s leadership, employees put tremendous effort and resources into preparing for the evaluation by setting up task forces and steering committees, and holding overseas CCO forums and several other training sessions, Hua Nan said.
The bank also attended meetings hosted by the Financial Supervisory Commission and the Anti-Money Laundering Office, and held meetings with other banks and financial institutions to exchange opinions, it added.
Such efforts have yielded satisfactory results in the evaluation, it said.
The bank is to conduct an overall review of its AML regulations, seeking maximum convenience for its clients, reducing risk and prioritizing implementation of the policy, while observing proportionality, Hua Nan said.
Specific measures would include updating information systems, introducing additional training for bank staff in regards to communicating with the public, and offering incentives for customers to update information, it added.
The bank said it aims to fulfill its AML duties and support the government’s policies.
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