Caribbean bankers get training in anti-money laundering

Leading training providers for finance professionals- the Caribbean Association of Banks Inc (CAB), in partnership with the Florida International Bankers Association (FIBA) and the Florida International University (FIU) hosted two packed training workshops, back to back on Anti-Money Laundering for Certified Associate (AMLCA) and Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) Implementation.

In a release, the CAB said the training was developed for compliance officers, risk management professionals, bank examiners and lawyers for banks and financial services institutions and took place from May 22 to 24. The AMLCA training was led by Alice E Morris, of Solomon Edwards Banking & Financial Services in South Florida.
Morris has over 22 years’ experience in global risk management, regulatory compliance and AML/ TF programmes with a strong background in customer investment suitability compliance, internal controls, operational risk management, and compliance IT system development and implementation.
Attending the training were compliance and risk professionals, senior accounts, loans, legal, and operations officers and branch and general managers from banking and other financial services institutions throughout the Caribbean.
Topics
The training covered the areas: application of AML laws/ regulations, understanding/ rating risk, CDD, EDD, KYC, AML compliance systems, identification of suspicious activity, transaction monitoring and the BSA/ AML FFIEC manual in practice (required for the certification).
The course material, which covered many real and famous case studies, generated some very technical discussions, particularly regarding the systems and processes. Frequently stressed was the importance of putting all of AML procedures in place and the need to ‘document, document, and document’.
Benefits
Both workshops successfully delivered real and practical value to the participating organisations as all participants left satisfied that they had received absolutely all of the critical information and references required to either manage an effective AML programme or create a successful FATCA compliance programme, for the benefit of their organisations.
Caribbean Association of Banks Inc is a community of banks and other financial institutions in the Caribbean/ Caricom region, whose mission is to advance the interest of member institutions through advocacy, networking, provision of training and other solutions to strengthen the Caribbean financial sector.