Input the volume and time spent on activities within your AML compliance program and get a rough estimate of how many individuals are needed to ensure adequate coverage for all duties.
Choosing the suitable asset/liability model for a financial institution depends on numerous factors, such as the bank’s size, the complexity of its operations, risk appetite, regulatory requirements, and business strategy.
An asset/liability model is critical to a financial institution’s success, and financial institutions must take a rigorous approach to ensure they choose a model that is compliant with regulations and tailored to the institution’s specific needs.
This guide will discuss considerations like:
- Risk profile and tolerance
- In house or outsourced model
- Regulatory compliance
- And more
Additional ALM resource: Are you evaluating ALM vendors? Get help assessing them for your needs: Checklists for evaluating ALM model vendors
Many community financial institutions are looking to expand their customer base and grow the loan portfolio. At the same time, pressure to reduce operating costs means they must accomplish these goals efficiently while ensuring loan policy consistency.
These smaller financial institutions often turn to community lending software to help achieve these goals. Software that can take, review, and process loan requests and related documents is a critical investment that is heavily scrutinized. Financial institution leaders must ensure the potential solution will meet the unique needs of the institution. The following buyer’s guide will review four major areas to consider.
Regulatory expectations around BSA/AML/OFAC compliance programs continue to increase with no relief in sight. Smaller institutions are not exempt from these pressures, contrary to what some senior management may believe, yet financial institutions are searching for new and more efficient ways to identify and report suspicious behavior. FinCEN’s requirements for a healthy culture of compliance provide valuable talking points when discussing AML automation with your leadership and board. This whitepaper is intended to assist BSA compliance professionals at smaller, less complex institutions make a case for automation by highlighting FinCEN’s opinion on what makes a healthy culture of compliance, enforcement actions against other community financial institutions, and the inefficiencies and deficiencies of a manual monitoring program.
In this guide, you will learn:
- Key factors to maintaining AML compliance
- Shortcomings of manual BSA/AML programs
- How auditors treat small community financial institutions
- How to start automating your BSA/AML program
When it comes to transitioning to the current expected credit loss (CECL) model, some financial institutions are seeking a partner to aid with this regulatory change. Process outsourcing can help banks and credit unions focus on growth and investment in their communities. While there are many benefits to outsourcing the CECL calculation, it’s crucial to properly evaluate the right partner for your institution. This guide provides important factors and best practices when considering a process outsourcing partner for CECL.
Download to learn:
- Risk and business considerations when evaluating a vendor
- Factors to help determine the defensibility a vendor can provide
- How to evaluate the engagement pattern with a potential partner
Now that CECL calculations are complete or nearing completion, what’s next? It is considered best practice to conduct model validations or have alternate controls to address the model validation control risks. Model validation identifies the weaknesses and limitations of a model for consideration as the model outputs are utilized. This guide covers the four core elements of an effective CECL model validation.
Download to learn:
- Who should perform model validations
- What model inputs will be examined
- How calculations of the model are examined
- Components of the outcomes analysis
A 7-Step Guide to Vendor Selection
Software, and the automation it provides, can allow financial institutions to scale and manage risk more efficiently, yet the process of buying new software is infrequent for many banks and credit unions.
This guide presents seven steps for evaluating software options and vendors, including many of the components of regulatory guidance on third-party relationships.
See specific guides for:
Best practices to build and update your policies
A loan policy is a critical part of lending that ensures the bank or credit union operates within its prescribed risk tolerances. In today’s competitive and fast-changing lending landscape, an up-to-date loan policy may be more important than ever to properly reflect the institution’s particular needs and goals while allowing some flexibility to remain effective.
Although each institution’s process will differ slightly, the best practices outlined in this loan policy guide will enable your financial institution to understand and build an effective loan policy.
Check out other loan policy resources:
- Webinar – Fortify Your Loan Policy to Effectively Manage Credit Risk
- Blog – Create and Maintain an Effective Loan Policy
Over the next few years, financial statements provided by customers could include stimulus proceeds that overstate their ability to make their loan payments. While stimulus programs were intended to keep business viable during the pandemic, some industry segments thrived and could use the funds received to reduce debt or bolster their cash position.
Understanding how to dissect the financial statements that you receive will be critical when assigning credit risk going forward. Below is quick guide to help you determine how to include some of the different stimulus programs that were offered during the pandemic.
Check out other credit analysis resources:
- Commercial Credit Analysis Checklist: Common Missteps and How to Avoid
- On-Demand Webinar: Taking the Stimulus Out of Credit Analysis
While providing financial services to cannabis-related businesses (CRBs) can be risky, it can also be advantageous. There is a substantial need for financial services by the cannabis industry, and there is a significant opportunity for banks and credit unions who choose to work with CRBs. It requires financial institutions to understand the industry’s nuances, closely monitor ongoing guidance and regulation changes, adequately safeguard the institution, and train staff accordingly. Even if cannabis is not legal in the financial institution’s state, customers in neighboring states still pose a risk. As more states continue legalizing cannabis, the onus is on financial institutions to complete thorough due diligence and know the members that cross state lines for services.
Ultimately, it is at the discretion of each financial institution on how they want to handle banking these businesses, knowing the state and federal laws. Understand the risks and learn how to stay compliant while banking CRBs.
Download this whitepaper to learn:
- Distinctions between the terms cannabis, marijuana, and hemp
- Six key areas related to CRBs to consider in your risk assessments
- How to stay compliant, should your financial institution decide to engage in relationships with CRBs
Providing financial services to cannabis-related businesses can feel like navigating through a haze of constantly changing regulations. View on our-demand webinar, Navigating Regulatory Haze: Banking Cannabis-Related Businesses and Managing Risk for additional insight on how to manage regulatory compliance and maintain a risk-based program.
Is your AML Department understaffed?
Assess Your Institution's AML Resources
Use this interactive AML staffing calculator to ensure you have enough staff to cover the existing workload for your BSA/AML compliance program and any unknowns that may be around the corner.
With this AML staffing calculator you can:
- Determine if your AML compliance team is sufficiently staffed
- Analyze the risk of losing valuable members of your team
- Help build your use case for your senior management on the need for additional resources
Staffing Calculator Instructions
AML Staffing Calculator
Step 1
Enter the average volume of each activity conducted each month in your BSA/AML department, such as the number of alerts or cases for review.
Step 2
Enter the average number of minutes per single activity. For example, how long it takes to clear one alert or review one case.
Some tasks related to suspicious activity monitoring are completed only once per year. For these activities, divide total time needed by 12 to estimate monthly minutes per activity.
Step 3
View the total hours per month spent on activities and number of full time employees (FTEs) required to complete the tasks of your AML compliance program. You may be surprised by the needs for your unique AML team.
Note: 90% Utilization Rate means 36 productive hours/week.
Get The Extra Help You Need
Regulators must be confident that you are sufficiently staffed with the correct number and experience level of staff.
Whether you're ready for a robust version of a staffing assessment to analyze your organization's resources or need of short- or long-term help with suspicious activity monitoring, we're here to help.
Get in touch today to see how our advisory services team can provide the support you need.
Abrigo's experts can help:
- Review alerts, work cases, and prepare SARs to alleviate day-to-day operational challenges
- Perform a comprehensive staffing assessment to ensure your team is set up to work as efficiently as possible
- Assess and strengthen your program to give you more confidence heading into your audits and exams
“Working with Abrigo’s Advisory Services team gives me time to focus on other BSA projects that strengthen our program. We have confidence in knowing the alerts are being worked through in a timely and thorough manner.”
Davreen Dixon, JD, CAMS | Senior BSA Analyst, Capital Bank
Abrigo's AML Consulting Services
Dedicated experts to support your BSA/AML needs
Flexible Engagements with Abrigo
Our experts act as an extension of your AML Department and can help your institution regardless of who your current software or program management provider is. Learn how Abrigo is here to offer support with a variety of services that alleviate resource constraints, respond to regulatory feedback, and satisfy examiner expectations.
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