Financial Crime World

Hong Kong’s Financial Institutions Bolster Compliance Capabilities with New Industry-Wide Framework

In an initiative to enhance the competence of banking professionals and create a sustainable talent pool of compliance practitioners in Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) and the banking industry collaborated to introduce an industry-wide Enhanced Competency Framework (ECF) for Banking Practitioners in 2018. This section outlines the key aspects of ECF-Compliance, a specialized program for compliance functions within financial institutions.

ECF-Compliance: Objectives and Benefits

ECF-Compliance, a non-statutory framework, aims to develop a competent and proficient compliance talent base in Hong Kong’s banking sector. Its objectives are twofold:

  1. Cultivating a sustainable talent pool of future-ready compliance practitioners.
  2. Raising and maintaining the professional competence of existing compliance practitioners.

Although the ECF-Compliance is not a mandatory licensing regime, it serves multiple purposes for Financial Institutions (FIs):

Determining and Assessing Competence

  • Determining the required competence levels of employees: FIs can assess the current competence levels of their staff and identify areas for development.

Facilitating Relevant Training

  • Facilitating relevant employees in attending training programs: FIs can help their compliance practitioners attend training programs and examinations that meet the ECF-Compliance benchmark.
  • Supporting continuous professional development (CPD): The framework encourages ongoing learning, as compliance is a constantly evolving field.

Industry Recognition

  • Fostering the perception of ECF-Compliance as an industry-recognized qualification: During recruitment processes, employers may prefer candidates with the ECF-Compliance certification.

Scope

ECF-Compliance is intended to apply to staff whose primary responsibilities revolve around the compliance function (excluding Anti-Money Laundering/Counter-Financing of Terrorism [AML/CFT] compliance) in FIs based in Hong Kong. It targets Risk and Product Specialists (RPs) holding the following roles:

  1. General Compliance
  2. Investment and Insurance Compliance

Competency Levels

The ECF-Compliance competency standards are divided into two levels:

Core Level

  • Applicable to junior level professionals with under 5 years of experience in the compliance function.

Professional Level

  • Applicable to middle to senior level professionals with 5 years or more of experience in the compliance function.

Certification

RPs looking to attain certification as an Associate Compliance Professional (ACOP) or a Certified Compliance Professional can do so through the following routes:

Associate Compliance Professional (ACOP)

Training and Examination

  1. Completion of all three core level training modules and passing the relevant examination for each module.
  2. Grandfathered under specific criteria (exempted from completing training and examination based on their prior experience and qualifications).

Certified Compliance Professional (General Compliance Stream - CCOP(GC) or Investment and Insurance Compliance Stream - CCOP(IIC))

Training and Examination

  1. Completion of the professional level training module and passing the relevant examination.
  2. Grandfathered under specific criteria (exempted from completing the training and examination based on their prior experience and qualifications).

Training and Examinations

The ECF-Compliance includes a series of core and professional level training modules. Each module has distinct training durations and costs, and the format and duration of the examinations are also specified.

More information, including application procedures, exam schedules, and fee structures, can be found in the HKMA’s official Guide to Enhanced Competency Framework on Compliance.

For more queries or feedback, please contact the Hong Kong Institute of Bankers via their hotline +852 2864 4233 or email training@hkib.org.hk.