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NEWS RELEASE 2007
ABA Media Contact: Jon Snowling
(202) 663-5468
E-mail: jsnowlin@aba.com
ABA CONDUCTS NATIONAL SURVEY OF COMPLIANCE PROFESSIONALS
58 Percent Say Focus on BSA/AML Diverts Compliance Resources
ATLANTA, June 4 – The American Bankers Association released the results of a national study on compliance professionals today at their annual Regulatory Compliance Conference.
The study found that 58 percent of compliance officers say regulatory focus on the Bank Secrecy Act and anti-money laundering initiatives has diverted exam resources away from conducting an appropriate review of other compliance obligations on a risk-adjusted basis.
Forty eight percent of mid sized banks ($1-19 billion in assets) have three or more full time compliance employees dedicated to BSA/AML functions, and banks larger than 20 billion average 33 employees assigned to BSA/AML duties.
"This highlights the need for regulators to improve the efficiency of the process and ensure that law enforcement is receiving useful information," said Rich Riese; director of the ABA's Center for Regulatory Compliance.
He suggested one part of the solution would be to eliminate outdated reporting obligations and fine tune the suspicious activity reporting process through legislation.
"Passing the Seasoned Customer Exemption Act would cut most of the 13 million currency transaction reports filed annually. This would enable banks to redirect resources to assist law enforcement more effectively, instead of filling out unnecessary forms," said Riese.
The study was conducted by the ABA's Center for Regulatory Compliance with the goal of providing insight into the backgrounds of compliance officers and identifying the different structures under which the role of compliance officer is performed.
As part of the survey, more than 497 bank compliance officers returned questionnaires detailing their attitudes on regulatory costs, training, structure and accountability. The survey included representation from a wide cross section of bank sizes.
The American Bankers Association, on behalf of the more than two million men and women who work in the nation's banks, brings together all categories of banking institutions to best represent the interests of this rapidly changing industry. Its membership-which includes community, regional and money center banks and holding companies, as well as savings associations, trust companies and savings banks-makes ABA the largest banking trade association in the country.
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