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December 22, 2020 The Federal Reserve and the New York State Department of Financial Services have ordered Credit Suisse to repair its anti-money laundering program after shortcomings were found in the Swiss company's U.S. operation, according to an enforcement action released Tuesday. The plan must improve on oversight of a Credit Suisse risk management subsidiary that was running its anti-money-laundering program, including a requirement that "appropriate escalation processes" are put in place, according to the agreement. [Extracted from the article]

Deep Labs, a developer of what it calls "persona-based intelligence", has $16 million in commitments from a group of financial technology investors that includes Serendipity Capital, Gramercy Ventures and Gunnar Overstrom of Corsair Capital. Clients use Deep Labs' software to bring on new customers, detect fraud and make marketing decisions. [Extracted from the article]

The article offers updates on the bank industry as of June 11, 2019. Highlights include the status of banks' revenues from financing cross-border commerce despite tensions between the U.S. and its trading partners, failings discovered by investment banking firm Deutsche Bank in its anti-money laundering and sanctions controls, and the decision of financial services group Wells Fargo to settle a class action lawsuit by auto loan customers who were forced to buy insurance they did not need.

The article reports on U.S. Senators who released draft legislation to strengthen coordination on dealing with anti-money-laundering (AML) threats. Topics mentioned include establishment of a new beneficial ownership standard, beneficial ownership bill of the U.S. House Financial Services Committee, and obstacles that stand in the way of AML reform becoming law.

The article discusses whether mergers and acquisitions will be pursued by Fulton Financial after being freed from orders that were issued for deficiencies in the Bank Secrecy Act and Anti-Money Laundering (BSA/AML) compliance. Topics covered include plans of Fulton to merge all of the company's bank units, impact of the order termination on the ability of Fulton to pursue acquisitions and decision of Fulton to prioritize expansion without acquisitions.

This section offers news briefs on the banking industry as of May 2019. U.S. District Judge Edgardo Ramos has ruled that President Donald Trump cannot block subpoenas from the House seeking his financial documents from Deutsche Bank and Capital One. Deutsche chief executive officer (CEO) Christian Sewing has intended to make cutbacks as the bank's stock dropped. The German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority has ordered the fintech N26 to strengthen its anti-money laundering practices.

The article reports that BaFin, Germany's Federal Financial Supervisory Authority, has ordered challenger bank N26 to enhance its anti-money laundering and terrorist financing measures. Topics covered include the need for the lender to remove backlogs in information technology (IT) monitoring and boost regulatory compliance measures and the lender's response to the order as confirmed by spokeswoman Katharina Heller.

The article focuses on the plan of U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to examine Deutsche Bank's compliance with anti-money-laundering rules. Topics covered include the call from congressional Democrats for greater scrutiny of the German bank, Mnuchin's criticism of the three-billion-dollar quarterly loss posted by the bank, and the allegation that the bank failed to report suspicious activity reports.

The article reports that the U.S. House Financial Services Committee postponed on May 9, 2019 a vote on legislation requiring firms to disclose their beneficial owners, as the bill's Democratic author, Representative Carolyn Maloney of New York, continues to negotiate with the panel's top Republican, Representative Patrick McHenry of North Carolina. The bill would require the disclosure of beneficial owners at the time of incorporation to prevent the money-laundering risk of shell companies.

The article describes the challenges faced by small banks in U.S. border towns due to efforts by the administration of President Donald Trump to prevent illegal immigration. According to bankers, strengthening their defenses against money laundering in response to increased scrutiny from regulators and law enforcement has caused their compliance costs to rise. Commerce has slowed down since bottlenecks at border checkpoints discouraged consumers in Mexico from crossing the border.

The article focuses on the U.S. Congress close to enacting anti-money-laundering (AML) reforms, with the House Financial Services Committee planning to start debate in May 2019 on two standalone AML-related bills. Topics covered include reforms that are being planned favorable to the banking industry, the opposition by law enforcement on the proposal by banks to raise thresholds for banks reporting suspicious transactions, and the support of banks on beneficial ownership requirement.

The article reports on the plan of federal financial regulators in the U.S to meet with law enforcement officials in May 2019 to address banks' reporting burdens under anti-money-laundering (AML) laws. Topics mentioned include amendments to streamline the Bank Secrecy Act and AML rules, limitation in the authority of prudential regulators to deal with AML-related issues, and the effort of U.S. Congress to address the more cumbersome paperwork process at banks.

The article deals with an enforcement action issued by the U.S. Federal Reserve Board ordering Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. to correct anti-money-laundering deficiencies in the Japanese bank's U.S.-based branch.

The article explains the need of banks to strengthen their sales practices in order to improve their protections against money laundering. It references the case of Standard Chartered Bank that admitted that it intentionally violating sanctions against Iran by allowing accounts in the names of Dubai companies that served as fronts for business in Iran. Banks are urged to provide adequate compliance staff and resources in order to prevent money laundering practices by their officers.

The article reports on a partnership between identity verification software company Jumio with risk database company ComplyAdvantage to make database checks a part of the process to incorporate new customers through mobile apps or websites to help prevent banks form taking laundered money. It states the technology will use an artificial intelligence in the identity verification process and will use live video along with a scanned piece of government-issued identification.

The article focuses on anti-money-laundering (AML) efforts as of March 2019. Topics include the fine imposed against UBS for conspiring with account holders to commit crimes, the alleged massive AML crimes against Danske and Swedbank, and the need for a collaborative effort by sales, compliance and senior management. The need of legitimate governments to require their law enforcement communities to priories imprisoning bankers, businessmen and lawyers that assist clients in AML is also noted.

The article presents an interview with Ben Duranske, co-founder of compliance technology firm Beam and former chief compliance officer of Facebook, who discusses about the anti-money laundering (AML) techniques utilized by financial institutions. Duranske believes that the rule sets implemented by banks to fight money laundering are not sustainable. He comments on the importance of the role that humans play in performing computerized compliance oversight and quality checks.

The article offers banking industry news briefs as of March 6, 2019. U.S. District Court Judge Charles Breyer in California dismisses the case against Barclays trader Robert Bogucki who was accused of front-running in a deal with Hewlett-Packard. Several European banks, including ABN Amro, Commerzbank, and ING launch initiatives to address money-laundering schemes. The article also reports that British and European banks need to assess their bank accounts in the event of no-deal Brexit.

The article reports on the move by the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to order the U.S. branches of MUFG Bank to make a host of upgrades after finding problems with their efforts against money laundering. But the OCC did not impose any financial penalties on the Japanese bank. The agency has acknowledged the bank for making improvements regarding its response to money laundering. Comptroller Joseph Otting has urged foreign banks to abandon their state charters.

The article reports on the move by U.S. financial agencies to begin the digital modernization of regulation and compliance in 2019. Topics discussed include the plans of Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. for an office of innovation, the plans of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to create CFTC 2.0 and a joint statement issued by the four financial institution supervisory agencies with Fincen encouraging banks and credit unions to combat money laundering through regtech.

The article reports that U.S. Bancorp is accelerating plans to consolidate branches in existing markets and open new, smaller ones in cities where it has no retail presence, now that it has been freed from a consent order tied to its anti-money-laundering compliance. Topics discussed include statement from Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Andy Cecere on the 2015 enforcement order from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and plans to add branches in Texas and in the Southeast.

The article highlights the role of whistleblowers in anti-money laundering (AML) enforcement actions as part of government efforts to curb illegal movement of funds. Topics discussed are the need for the U.S. Congress to create whistleblower protections and incentives, adoption of artificial intelligence systems to help combat AML, difficulty for law enforcement in tracking AML transactions with the rise of cryptocurrency, and enforcement of the AML provisions in the Bank Secrecy Act.

The article reports on the support of bank technologists to the idea of using artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning technology in many areas such as lending and anti-money laundering compliance. Topics discussed include challenges facing banks when they try to implement AI, remarks from Douglas Merrill, chief executive officer (CEO) and founder of ZestFinance, and risks pose by the use of any technology, according to David Berglund, senior vice president of AI at U.S. Bank.

The article reports that financial services company Morgan Stanley was fined 10 million U.S. dollars by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority for deficiencies in its anti-money-laundering (AML) program. It discusses the company's shortcomings which include its failure to do enough to review alerts generated by its automated AML surveillance system. Also discussed are steps taken by Morgan Stanley to expand and enhance its AML program.

The article discusses the joint statement issued by several U.S. agencies calling on banks and credit unions to be innovative in their ways to prevent anti-money laundering. The signatories of the statement include the Federal Reserve, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. Also mentioned are artificial intelligence as one of technology cited by agencies to help banks meet their Bank Secrecy Act obligations and no penalty for banks to initiate pilot programs.

The article presents warning from U.S. Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (Fincen) Director Kenneth Blanco and U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) financial crimes section Chief Steven D'Antuono on the proposed reform of anti-money laundering reporting rules. Issues discussed are effectiveness of AML reporting in catching criminals, impact of raising thresholds for currency transaction and suspicious activity reports on financial intelligence, and the need for business ownership rules.

The article offers news briefs on the financial services industry as of November 28, 2018. A six percent drop in the value of Bitcoin was recorded on November 26, 2018, as well as a drop in interest from cryptocurrency miners as evidenced by a drop in the hash rate. An improvement was noted on the anti-money-laundering compliance program of Standard Chartered's New York branch. Randal Quarles was appointed as the next chair of the Financial Stability Board.

The article reports on the move by bipartisan members of the U.S. Senate Banking Committee in November 2018 to discuss possible changes to the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) to reform anti-money laundering (AML) rules. Among the senator members are Republicans Thom Tillis and Tom Cotton and Democrats Mark Warner and Doug Jones. Also cited is the comment of Paul Merski of Independent Community Bankers of America on the development.

An interview with IBM's Promontory Financial Group founder and chief executive officer Eugene Ludwig is presented. He explains how artificial intelligence can be used to improve the underwriting process for middle- to low-income people and improve anti-money laundering (AML) monitoring. He discusses whether financial institutions should exclude refugees who came to the U.S. for safety in their business. He tackles the term "multifactor behavior analysis."

The article reports on the 100 million U.S. dollar fine imposed by the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) against Capital One over anti-money-laundering (AML) program lapses. Topics covered include failure of the bank to comply with the requirements of the AML and Bank Secrecy Act program, failure of Capital One to detect and report on suspicious activities and the statement issued by the bank in response to the fine.

The article reports on the decision by banks to avoid providing loans to strip clubs. Topics mentioned include the insights of William Isaac, bank consultant and former chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., on the reasons for avoiding strip clubs by banks, the importance of anti-money-laundering compliance in banks, and the loan contract by banking company Home BancShares with strip clubs operator RCI Hospitality.

The article reports on IBM's testing of a dynamic segmentation platform integrated into its Watson Financial Services unit aimed at identifying criminal behavior. Topics discussed include the challenges of identifying true criminals, the platform's ability to reduce false positives for anti-money-laundering surveillance, and its effectiveness in terms of cost savings.

The article shares insights on whether banks should allow people to buy bitcoin using credit cards. Topics tackled are volatility and risk posed by using credit cards to buy cryptocurrency for financial institutions, prevention of fraud or losses among banks, consumer protection from market changes, and mitigation of the risks of cryptocurrency purchases through digital currency exchanges with competent anti-money-laundering solutions.

The article reports on the promise by U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin while testifying before the House Financial Services Committee on July 12, 2018 that he would push for regulators to ease anti-money laundering requirements and other deregulatory efforts. Topics covered include his acknowledgement that the requirements for banks to report suspicious financial activity through the Bank Secrecy Act have become cumbersome, and his commitment to easing the beneficial ownership rule.

The article reports on the move by IBM to update its bank governance risk and compliance products by combining the data analytics software of Armanta with the natural language processing skills of Watson and the regulatory expertise of Promontory Financial Group. The combination is said to have allowed Watson to identify 30% to 50% of bank anti-money-laundering alerts as false positives. It also reduced the time it took for a banker to perform customer due diligence on a standard business.

The article focuses on an anti-money-laundering (AML) bill authored by Representatives Blaine Luetkemeyer and Steve Pearce. Topics discussed include the decision by some lawmakers to pull their support for the bill after it left out a requirement for new companies to provide the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network with beneficial-owner information when they are incorporated, and the purpose of the beneficial-owner rules of preventing criminals from hiding behind shell companies.

The article offers information on a bill scheduled for a vote in June 2018 in the U.S. House Financial Services Committee, with provisions aimed to reduce the compliance costs of financial institutions when trying to meet the requirements of anti-money laundering rules. Topics covered include the provisions of the previous version of the bill, how the use of anonymous companies in money laundering will be addressed in the current bill, and the need for the banking community to support the bill.

The author argues on the need reform the Currency and Foreign Transactions Reporting Act of 1970, known as the Bank Secrecy Act to better fight money laundering and illicit financing in the U.S. Topics covered include the need to modernize the tools used to capture and prosecute 21st century criminals, and the struggle of financial institutions to serve their customers and fulfill its duties as defense against illicit finance, and a call to reduce reporting burdens for financial institutions.

The article reports on regulatory pressures faced by U.S. banks over the collection of customers' personal data. Topics discussed include an anti-money-laundering rule requiring banks to collect more customer information, and the European Union's (EU) massive General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR ) which gives any bank with EU customers just one week to meet a separate deadline to ramp up data protection.

The article focuses on the U.S. Financial Crimes Enforcement Network's customer due diligence rule that goes into effect on May 14, 2018 which aims to follow illegitimate money trails. Topics covered include the ability of firms to follow the rule which require significant levels of customer cooperation, the traditional means for financial institutions to obtain ownership information on customers, and the difficulty faced by banks in obtaining and verifying detailed personal information.

The article details the plan of lawmakers and regulators in the U.S. to reassess anti-money laundering (AML) rules as many agree that the Bank Secrecy Act is too burdensome to banks and ineffective in stopping crime. Topics discussed include the proposed streamlining of rules, the U.S. House's plan to introduce a package that would put more responsibility on regulators to help banks track suspicious financial transactions, and the effectiveness of suspicious activity reports submitted by banks.

The article focuses on the challenges facing U.S. banks to comply with the rule by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network requiring them to begin tracking the true owners of business clients to prevent money laundering by bad actors hiding behind shell companies. Topics covered include the provisions of the customer due diligence rule, which takes effect May 11, 2018, and the reaction of customers on the news steps required to open an account, and the preparedness of the banks for the rule.

This article discusses how artificial intelligence (AI) technology can help banks in their anti-money-laundering (AML) efforts. Topics covered include the banks' concerns about machine learning, suspicious activity report (SAR) filings, and their regulators, the intent of AML and economic sanctions work, and the result of OCBC Bank's experiment with ThetaRay's AI-based AML software. Mentioned also are the rules-based AML systems used by U.S., European and indeed most banks around the world.

The article reports on the expectation by U.S. Bancorp that an October 2015 regulatory order meant to ensure that it increased its efforts to combat money laundering will be lifted by the end of 2018.

The article reports on Citizens Financial's defense of its anti-money laundering controls amid concerns about its exposure to the U.S. federal investigation over Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Topics covered include the decline of the company's share price in February 2018 and the risks it faces in connection with federal money laundering and bank fraud charges filed against U.S. President Donald Trump's former campaign manager Paul Manafort.

The article reports on the decision of U.S. Bancorp to enter into a deferred prosecution agreement with the U.S. Attorney's Office in New York for violating the anti-money laundering rule. Topics mentioned include the bank's admission of concealing key data regarding its initiative to address money laundering, the amount that the bank agreed to pay in penalties, and a description of bank's bad behavior.

The article reports on the U.S. Bancorp has violated the Bank Secrecy Act due to errors in anti-money laundering program. Topics mentioned include the company's agreement to pay penalties imposed by federal authorities, the failure of the company to implement a compliance program due to inadequacy of internal controls and training, and the Justice Department's decision to dismiss charges if the company will comply with the settlement agreement.

The article discusses the efforts of the bank holding company Oritani Financial to abide by its informal agreement surrounding anti-money laundering (AML) and U.S. Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) compliance.

The article discusses the highlights of the U.S. Senate Banking Committee's hearing on anti-money laundering (ML) rules held on January 17, 2018. Senator Mark Warner commented on the decline in the price of bitcoins after China announced its plan to consider virtual-currency regulation. Treasury's under secretary for terrorism and financial crimes Sigal Mandelker talked about the agency's focus on ML related to cryptocurrencies.

The article discusses whether artificial intelligence technologies will ultimately replace people in the workplace as of October 2017. Topics covered include efforts in ensuring that robotic processes will not replace but will ease bank employees' workloads, and the artificial intelligence system Watson's programming to handle anti-money laundering, trade surveillance, and compliance management. Also noted is technology's enabling of more time for critical thinking and innovation by personnel.