The Community Banking Corner provides useful tips for anti-money laundering/Bank Secrecy Act (AML/BSA) professionals in community banks to help them in their day-to-day jobs.
Our regular contributor, Carl Francois, is the senior vice president and the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) and fraud officer at Southern First Bank. Francois has over 14 years of experience in the BSA, the Office of Foreign Assets Control and fraud. In addition, he serves as a board member of the ACAMS Carolinas Chapter. If you would like to contribute to this column or have any topics you would like to suggest, email editor@acams.org.
In honor of Women’s History Month, ACAMS Today’s Community Banking Corner column is profiling women in the world of community banking. Mia Lee has worked in the banking and financial services industry since 1989, focusing on Bank Secrecy Act/anti-money laundering (BSA/AML) practices since 2002. She...
The early 1980s were a confusing time; much like today, the U.S. was working through a difficult transition from one decade to another. However, U.S. citizens understood the importance of honoring the past while looking to the future. Thus in February 1980, President Jimmy Carter...
All financial institutions (FIs) are potential targets of criminals seeking to wash their ill-gotten revenues from the telltale signs of their illegal origins. In order to use the money, criminals and terrorists need to place it into the financial system, but in such a way...
The Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) and the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) are the peanut butter and jelly of the financial crimes compliance world. Although BSA and OFAC are typically handled by the same department in smaller institutions, their laws are quite different...
Businesses’ fourth quarter often brings unique challenges. Nestled against the idyllic backdrop of holiday lights and the hopeful optimism of still yet unbroken New Year resolutions there exists the specter of strategic planning. Whether 2020 will be roaring with the jazzy enthusiasm of a...
A common theme, as one would expect within the articles of the Community Banking Corner, is “risk-based.” Sanctions compliance is no different. Sanctions compliance varies in complexity depending on a financial institution’s (FI’s) geographic locations, customer base, and products and services offered. Not all...
Blockchain—a trendy topic that most associate with the realm of cryptocurrency and in technology-savvy circles—is a revolutionary idea that can be applied across numerous platforms. To the layperson, blockchain may simply be “how bitcoin works” but to those in technology-based occupations or disciplines it...
Community bankers often ask examiners which internal audit or consulting firms they should use for Bank Secrecy Act/anti-money laundering (BSA/AML) independent testing. However, regulators cannot endorse or recommend products and services. Even if they could, it would not be doing the bank any favors....
Does your anti-money laundering (AML) department have a collaborative relationship with law enforcement (LE)? If so, you know exactly the benefits of this relationship. If not, this should be a goal! Partnerships are a “win-win” when it comes to community banks, or banks of...
As the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) officer for a mid-sized bank in a state with legalized medicinal cannabis, I was open to the concept of banking cannabis. The bank has a strong BSA program with well-seasoned investigators who might be eager to tackle the challenge...