Despite increasing government sanctions and larger fines, only 48 percent of financial institutions have a strong "culture of compliance" and face a dire need to improve their anti-money laundering efforts. That's what employees at those firms reported in a new survey conducted by NICE Actimize, a risk and compliance software business. Identifying gaps in AML strategy was highlighted as the top concern by 47 percent of respondents, many of whom said improving the quality of data and information gathering at their organizations was a top priority.

NICE Actimize's “Culture of Compliance” anti-money laundering poll was taken by 422 participants from more than 300 financial services firms in 17 countries. Despite prevalent concerns, only 29 percent of respondents expect to see some form of change in their organization's approach to AML compliance risk management in the months ahead. Approximately 47 percent of them rated the identification of gaps in their overall anti-money laundering strategy as their most pressing AML concern for the next 6 to 12 months. Also, 23 percent cited model risk governance and model risk management requirements as another area ripe for continued attention. Approximately 12 percent of respondents said the prospect of being held personally responsible for non-compliant activities was something they'd be worrying about in the coming year.

                             

“Increasingly, regulators are looking for accountability at both institutional and compliance officer levels,” Joe Friscia, president of NICE Actimize, said in a statement. “The current enforcement environment is demanding more of AML risk management efforts, pushing compliance higher on the business agenda."

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