THE COMPLIANCE CONFERENCE 2022 (UK) – COMPLIANCE ACROSS BORDERS
– By professionals for professionals
This year’s compliance conference of 2022 takes a closer look at the internationalization of compliance. Some of the central questions that will be answered include: How is international financial crime currently being fought? Why, where and when are international compliance employees recruited? How can internal and external transnational cooperative compliance be organised and improved? What role does culture play in said cooperation?
The 9th of March 2022 the Union of Financial Services yet again invites you to an intriguing conference on compliance, with the opportunity for physical participation, as well as virtual live streaming for those members who, for varying reasons, cannot be physically present – for example in the case of specific guidelines for participation in meetings and/or a workplace elsewhere in Denmark or abroad.
Financial crime sadly knows no borders if it is not challenged. Cross-border crime prevention needs international insight, competence, and cooperation between organisations and across borders.
The main theme is the internationalization of KYC and AML, including the internal cooperation between compliance groups and the recruitment of foreign specialists. There will be professional presentations, as well as the opportunity for dialog in smaller groups.
- The conference will be held in English.
- Time: March 9th, 2022, at 09.00-16.00
- Location #1: Finansforbundet, Applebys Plads 7, Copenhagen
- Location #2: MS Live Event
Compliance tasks in banks and financial institutions are gradually becoming increasingly internationally oriented. This is a result of several mega-trends:
- New requirements and expectations regarding international customer commitments
- Knowledge of international money laundering legislation
- Digitalization and new agile work methods
(1) New requirements and expectations regarding international customer commitments
Financial crime that passes through the banking system is often carried out by organized networks and is constantly adjusting to circumvent established systems of surveillance and cooperation. The number of regulatory notifications and proceedings are on the rise, and is conducive of increased activity, attention as well as precaution in this area.
It is increasingly the case that banks are expected, and required, to reduce the likelihood of financial crime, by way of knowing their customer more thoroughly. In extension of this is a long list of financial institutions working on adjusting their international client portfolio.
In other words, Nordic banks and financial institutions must:
- Have a deep understanding of their clients’ previous and current commercial activities, both at home as well as abroad, according to KYC and AML legislation.
- Combat criminal networks that operate creatively, fast and competently across national borders
- Adjust or entirely discontinue non-resident customer commitments, for example for those in Poland, Estonia, Russia, Luxembourg, Gibraltar, the US and England.
At the conference there will be deliberations on the status of how the transnational work on money laundering is organized by banks, as well as the status of the authorities’ international cooperation on crime prevention.
(2) Knowledge of international money laundering legislation
A consequence of more, as well as new, European regulatory requirements is the increased diligence paid to compliance by financial institutions, who must recruit more specialists with international experience. We see that the compliance function grows in terms of staffing and tasks, just as individual subunits continue to become increasingly specialised, compartmentalized and geographically spread. A separation of function, such as this, presents a tall order for effective procedures for cooperation, as well as communication processes. Compliance employees, and cultural researchers alike, both agree that there can be sector and country specific cultural similarities and differences, regarding the ways in which decisions are made, how the workload is spread, and how cooperation is done. Culture also has a part to play when foreign specialists, with a different professional and cultural background, are recruited. Well-designed policies, structures and work processes are not always sufficient in securing good internal cooperation and successful onboarding. Understanding of the organisation, the sector as well as national characteristics can also contribute to this.
In other words, Nordic banks and financial institutions must:
- Know, and comply, with the money laundering legislation of the EU and other regions.
- Compete in recruitment of compliance specialists to build specialist functions and work procedures, based on their international experience.
- Establish foreign compliance departments in countries with financially attractive access to compliance personnel, thus reducing staff costs
- Seek international cooperation and consulting in areas of rule, customer relations and markets, where first-hand insight is limited
At the conference it is focused upon where and how international compliance personnel are recruited, and which role sector and national culture plays in onboarding, as well as processes of cooperation.
(3) Digitalization and new agile work methods
The increased attention to, and requirement of, KYC and AML cannot alone be attributed with employment. Automatization and digitalization of compliance seems to be the solution to the requirements. Digitization takes place internally as well as in cooperation with data centres and specialised regtech companies. Regulatory information technology (regtech) can make current systems and processes better, cheaper, and faster. Additionally, regtech can be used to swiftly trace even the slightest deviation in large amounts of transaction data, which can be an indication that a criminal act is taking place. It makes perfect sense for financial institutions to acquire and implement IT solutions, which can be applied across borders and jurisdictions, although there may be organizational, technical, and legal challenges associated with this.
The need for faster development and adjustments in the surveillance of money laundering is reflected in changed organizational practices. A long list of financial institutions are in these years implementing agile organizational models in both compliance and the supportive it-organisation alike. New IT development tool and development methods simultaneously allow for an increase in the agility of process and system support.
In other words, Nordic banks and financial institutions must:
- Cooperate with data centres, as well as other IT solution suppliers with the goal of developing IT solutions that cover national and foreign KYC and AML requirements alike.
- Establish IT departments abroad, in countries with financially attractive access to IT specialists, effectively reducing the cost of staffing, in this area.
- Organize compliance and IT based on more agile organizational principles.
At the conference it will be described and discussed how regtech solutions can be designed to work in an increasing number of jurisdictions. Furthermore, the conference will also include deliberations as to the reasoning behind financial institutions choosing to organise compliance by way of agile team principles.
Target audience:
The conference is aimed at members who are interested in the organizational aspects of the financial sectors fight on money laundering and terrorism.
The participants are expected to represent:
- Managers and employees in Nordic financial institutions
- Banks, financial institutions, and data centres with foreign compliance and/or IT departments
- Members employed in flexibly organised teams, i.e. tribes, transnational project teams
- English speaking members
Technical themes at the conference:
The conference will touch on the following themes:
- Recruiting and onboarding of foreign specialists
- Distance and motivational leadership of flexibly organised employees
- Implementation of transnational regtech solutions
- European experiences of cooperation regarding crime prevention
- National and sector-based cultures’ role in cooperation and communication
Conference disposition:
The conference consists of professional presentations, followed by free form conversations in smaller groups, with a concluding and summarizing plenary session.
It will be possible to participate physically as well as virtually through live streaming (Teams Live Event)
We happily supply lunch, morning, and afternoon coffee and/or tea.
PROGRAM
March 9. 2022 |
Program item | Speaker |
Morning sessions:
Status of cross-border money laundering and financing of terrorism |
||
09.00-09.10 | Welcome, internationalization and welcome to virtual participants | Michael Budolfsen, Vice-president at Finansforbundet |
09.10-09.15 | Practical information and run-through of the program | Steffen Löfvall, CEO at cph:learning
René McKenzie Lintrup, Officer, Governance, Adherence & Secretariat at Danske Bank |
09.15-09.50 | Status of cross-border money laundering supervisory cooperation and European regulatory initiatives | Stig Nielsen, director at Danish Financial Supervisory Authority |
09.50-10.25 | Status of cross-border financing of terror and European regulatory cooperation | Anders Vogelsang, Chief consultant, Financial Intelligence, Danish Security and Intelligence Service |
10.25-10.45 | Coffee break | – |
10.45-11.15 | Monitoring of money laundering across national borders | Henrik Koch, Head of Transaction Monitoring & Sanctions Development and Solutions at Nordea |
11.15-12.00 | Acquisition and the implementation of regtech solutions across national borders | Remonda Z. Kirketerp-Møller, Founder and CEO at Muinmos |
12.00-13.00 | Lunch | – |
Afternoon sessions:
The international labour market, cooperation and communication |
||
13.00-13.35 | Insights into effective recruitment and onboarding processes | Christian Harpelund, Partner at Leapeo and author of books on onboarding |
13.35-14.15 | Recruitment and onboarding of foreign specialists from a HR-perspective | Ditte Grundlund, HR Manager for CAO area at Danske Bank |
14.15-14.30 | Coffee break | – |
14.30-15.05 | Cross-national cooperation between compliance departments | Line Brummerstedt Stougaard,
First Vice President, Head of The Group Financial Crime Governance and The Regulatory Secretariat at Danske Bank |
15.05-15.50 | Working as international talent in the finance sector – Insights from the Network of International Members of Finansforbundet (NIM) | Kalina Boyanova Guldberg, steering member of Network of International Members, and Project Manager – Conduct PMO at Danske Bank |
15.50-16.00 | Conference summary | Steffen Löfvall
René McKenzie Lintrup |