RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA: Diversifying risk is not an easy exercise anymore for banking and financial sector and the private sector plays an important role on that front, according to Adel Al Qulish, Executive Secretary, MENAFATF.
He was speaking about the recent changes and future challenges of international anti money laundering regulation during Thomson Reuters, 7th Compliance and Anti-Money Laundering Seminar in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The fifth panel highlighted the key trends of global organized crime.
“KYC continues to be an accurate way to identify transactions across MENA markets. This data base is now the most vital element in the risk management world across the region. Our systems should be designed to report on high risk transactions,” Yaqoob Al Oraini, Chief Compliance Officer, Saudi Hollandi Bank, said.
Mohammed Daoud, Head of Governance, Risk and Compliance Solutions, MENA, Thomson Reuters, pointed out that risk and compliance offers need to have a balanced approach by handling the complexity of regulation and also managing commercial relations with other counterparts.
“Financial institutions in the GCC need more guidance and an appropriate understanding on what is expected from them in order to feel comfortable. The financial system is changing and requirements of MENA consumers are significantly being impacted,” Arz El Murr, Financial Sector Expert, International Monetary Fund, said.
The sixth panel debated how to build a culture of compliance and the growing focus on conduct risk and corporate governance.
“The local compliance culture needs to be a corporate culture now. It should focus on generating more revenues as opposed to managing risks. SAMA was very active and managed to successfully create committees that touched all aspects of compliance. As result, we have seen an increase in compliance implementation by companies driven by a strong board desire to push the compliance agenda in the Saudi market and beyond,” Ali Al Qahtani, Head of Anti Money Laundering, The Saudi British Bank, said.
“The interaction between government entities and financial institutions is a significant part in the compliance story. As part of its awareness plan, SAMA recently introduced new directives to the local banks in order to help them identify potential risks from a legal standpoint. The response from the local banks and financial institutions was very strong and promising,” Mohammed Al Aqeel, Head of Banking Processes, Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency, said.
Mohammed Khamis, Senior Specialist, Governance, Risk and Compliance, Thomson Reuters, explained that achieving real value of compliance is connected to changing the perception of compliance in companies.
“MENA companies should now perceive regulation as a driver for their business growth and a tone set from the board is required to achieve an effective compliance process,” he said.
The seminar is supported by leading banks and financial institutions including Banque Saudi Fransi, Samba, Bank Al Bilad, Al Rajhi Bank, The Saudi Investment Bank, SABB, Saudi Hollandi Bank, Al Ahli , Arab National Bank, Riyad Bank, CCL and J Awan & Partners.