Wednesday, 17 July 2024
Latin American central banks enhance transparency with SWIFT
At the 50th Felaban Annual Assembly, SWIFT announced that eight central banks in Latin America have adopted SWIFT’s Financial Crime Compliance solutions to enhance transparency and combat financial crime.
The central banks of Belize, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Curacao, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Haiti and Paraguay, have implemented SWIFT’s financial crime compliance solutions, including SWIFT’s KYC Registry and Sanctions Screening. In addition to adopting the KYC Registry themselves, some of the central banks have also endorsed the adoption of the KYC Registry across their entire jurisdictions. As a result of this regional effort, the number of institutions adopting SWIFT’s financial crime compliance tools in the region has nearly doubled in less than 12 months.
The trend of de-risking – the decision taken by banks to partially or fully exit certain jurisdictions, product domains and currencies by exiting their foreign correspondent banking relationships – has been pervasive in recent years. Latin America has been one of the most affected regions. In an effort to mitigate de-risking, or being disconnected by their foreign counterparties, the financial community across Latin America has taken these important steps to enhance transparency and build greater trust with the international financial community.
“De-risking in some regions has become so extreme that banks are now being challenged to address the problem, and the focus has moved from a commercial issue to one of financial inclusion,” says Fedra Ware, Lead Compliance Services Latin America, SWIFT. “Implementing the right compliance controls within an organisation, as well as ensuring enhanced transparency and collaboration between private and public entities, is critical to avoid being on the receiving end of a de-risking decision.”
Giorgio Trettenero, Secretary General, FELABAN adds, “Correspondent banking relationships play a crucial role in the economic development of Latin American countries. Thus, the region must continue to take the right measures to enhance transparency and build greater trust amongst all stakeholders including governments, correspondent banks, as well as national and international regulators. It is critically important that public and private institutions collaborate, implementing the most efficient and effective compliance programs across the region.”
Re-disseminated by The Asian Banker
