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Thanks! from Florida International Bankers Association (FIBA), Inc.
On February 19 and 20, 2009, FIBA held its 9th Annual Money Laundering Compliance Conference in Miami. Over 900 participants from 41 countries attended. In spite of the difficult economic environment we are facing, FIBA’s conference is presently recognized as one of the premier global forums related to the anti money laundering issue.
Our government partners from all the regulating entities, as well as those from law enforcement, were present in full force, and actively participating in the plenary sessions as well as the break out panels. This reinforces our mutual commitment to the “TEAM USA “ concept, whereby the industry partners up with our legislators, law enforcement, regulators and our vendors to assure that the US banking system remains competitive in the global marketplace, while protecting the US financial system from undesirable elements.
One of the main benefits of this conference, is the frank dialogue whereby the regulators share with the industry what their concerns and main points of focus are. Obviously, while the law is the same law, the developments in the marketplace call for changing priorities depending on where the major risks are, and this is one of the areas of focus in the conference.
Another benefit of the conference, is the opportunity to network with vendors, competitors, and our government partners. Market intelligence is abundant at the conference, and we constantly get feedback from participants as to the great benefits they derive on this count.
Obviously, we at FIBA also use the conference to provide feedback to regulators as to our challenges on the competitive angle, as well as to explain how some requirements could be impractical to achieve, so that Washington may better understand not only what the industry’s capabilities are, but at what levels do the compliance requirements render the business uncompetitive. We have made headway through the years, in taking advantage of this opportunity to make our voice heard with regulators and law enforcement.
Comments that were frequently heard throughout the conference centered around the quality of the sessions and panel discussions, and the impressive attendance which made it economic for many to spend time with folks they wanted to meet and discuss important issues in private.
For those of you who were not there, we experienced very lively discussions on the Latin American parallel markets and how best to deal with them in order to serve our clients, while protecting the US financial system. We also heard about how our government is increasingly paying attention to the newer, non-traditional methods of movement of money thanks to new technologies. Whether we are talking about stored value cards or “Panini” machines used by companies, we heard, loud and clear, what is expected of us. The correspondent banking and trade finance break out sessions all tackled the issues revolving around government’s complex expectations regarding these businesses.
We also heard a sobering, though quite funny presentation by an economist regarding how our economy got to where we are, and what we can expect in the next few months, including explanations as to why September 19, 2009 will be some day known as an important day in our country’s economic life, and how “Helicopter Ben” and others dealt with the situation. And of course, there was a lot of discussion regarding the “moving target”, which is account activity monitoring systems and thresholds, which are becoming the new KYC measurement tools. Those who attended, picked up an amount of information and context which I find it hard to imagine could be learned on one’s own in a six month period [and then only if one was constantly talking to professionals in the field]. Ramon Usategui, President of FIBA
We look forward to seeing you at the 10th Annual FIBA AML Compliance Conference, February 18 and 19, 2010, Hotel Intercontinental, Miami, FL.
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MP3 – all sessions one CD Rom for replay on MP3 player $ 99 Audio CD – each session is on an individual CD (17 total) $ 149
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Become AML Certified by the Industry!
Earn your FIBA-FIU Anti Money Laundering Certification. FIBA in partnership with FIU - Florida International University- has recognized the need for in-depth and practical training and has responded with the courses at the FIBA Anti Money Laundering Institute. Available online, in-house and in Spanish.
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