AML

In a twist, compliance officers are finding solace rather than pain in a recent enforcement action from the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.

WASHINGTON — After close to four years at the helm of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, Director Jennifer Shasky Calvery announced Tuesday she will leave the agency next month.

Hypur, a startup seeking to help banks serve businesses deemed high compliance risks (e.g. marijuana), has recruited a former Department of Justice lawyer to help build credibility. Its signature product: a payments platform to replace cash transactions.

Recent prosecutions against lenders accused of usury violations will test the government's use of a law more commonly known in organized crime cases.

The National Credit Union Administration quietly announced Thursday a meeting to discuss a reproposed executive compensation rule — one of the last and most important unfinished regulations in Dodd-Frank.

Banks should prepare for renewed scrutiny of their anti-money-laundering efforts in the wake of the headline-grabbing leak of the Panama Papers.

Sens. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., sent a letter to the Treasury Department on Thursday urging an investigation into whether any U.S. or U.S.-linked entities are associated with the Panama-based law firm Mossack Fonseca & Co. and its schemes to help wealthy individuals and businesses evade taxes and launder money.

As actions such as Operation Choke Point continue, the government should acknowledge the tension institutions face between serving a community and facing increased regulatory scrutiny.

If you're ever wondered about the scope of risks facing your financial institution from "insiders" potentially involved in shell company dealings, the Panama Papers provide some insight.

Banking industry representatives immediately raised significant questions about Donald Trump's plan to block remittances to Mexico, including the appropriateness of using financial institutions as a tool to carry out immigration policy, as well as how the policy would be executed.