By Carol Stabile, Safe Banking Systems LLC | October 12, 2012
Adopting a comprehensive approach to financial crime prevention, with greater reliance on analytics tools and collaboration among banks, regulators and law enforcement entities, was the theme of ACAMS' recent AML & Financial Crime conference.
The banking industry survived, the 9/11 terrorist attacks, only to be confronted in 2008 with the challenges of the global financial crisis. Both events, along with some key technology developments, shaped the financial services industry in which we work today.
Deloitte's Michael Zeldin says that banks have increasingly turned to technology to help keep up with regulations resulting from the terrorist attacks.
Financial institutions opening correspondent accounts or private banking accounts will have to do their homework, and technology can help -- to an extent.
The New York Times recently featured a front-page story about how a working group within the U.S. Treasury has been considering the prospect of accessing banks' logs of international money transfers.
Now that the financial services industry has successfully implemented systems for detecting money laundering and terrorist financing, it's time to use that same technology to combat other illicit activities that leave a financial trail.