The Chicago Chapter of the Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists (ACAMS) closed 2012 with a bang and has had a productive year through 1Q 2013 and is poised to continue another banner year in developing and hosting a number of professional learning events in the Chicago area. Recent events included: “Anti-Money Laundering in the News – Lessons Learned,” held on September 27th at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago; “Under the Microscope: Intensified Examiner AML Expectations, AML Hot Topics and AML Model Risk Management,” held at the Chicago offices of Crowe Horwath on November 30th; “A Panel Discussion about the New SAR - Are you Prepared?,” held on February 28th also held at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago; “BSA/AML Look Backs: Everything you Wanted To Know But Are afraid to Ask,” held on March 21st at the offices of Alvarez and Marsal Global Forensic & Dispute Services LLC; and “Unconventional Systems and Risks to Your Institution- A Closer Look at Social Networks and Hawalas,” slated for May 7th at the offices of GE Capital-Americas.
Each event targeted key focus areas facing financial institutions’ BSA/AML compliance programs and addressed internal and external program challenges that AML professionals may face in addressing those challenges in meeting both program goals and regulators’ expectations. Given the breadth of topics and multiple backgrounds and experiences of the speakers for the events, deep-dive presentation and discussion of the given subjects was robust and capacity attendance the norm.
The Chicago Chapter is continuing to develop a host of learning events which may include:
- Terrorism Investigation from a Law Enforcement perspective
- OFAC Filtering, featuring a prominent BSA/AML solution systems vendor
- Bank Cyber Security, featuring a presentation from the Law Enforcement community
Additional AML presentation topics for the remainder of 2013 are in various planning stages. The Chicago Chapter Board invites ACAMS members visiting from outside the Chicagoland area to drop in on its learning events when the opportunity arises. Look for more details on past and future events on the Chicago Chapter website at: http://www.acams.org/ACAMS/ACAMS/Communities/Chapters/Chicago/Default.aspx
