Financial Crime World

Financial Institutions Must Revamp Risk Management Strategies Amid Growing Concerns

In response to growing concerns over money laundering and terrorist financing, financial institutions in Belgium are being urged to revamp their risk management strategies.

Regulatory Requirements

According to a recent regulatory requirement, financial institutions must conduct a thorough review of their existing risk management measures and identify any weaknesses or gaps. If necessary, they must implement new measures to mitigate these risks and ensure compliance with anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorism financing (CFT) regulations.

  • The National Bank of Belgium (NBB) has set a deadline of July 1st, 2019 for financial institutions to complete this review process and implement any necessary corrective measures.
  • Institutions that require additional time to implement these changes must submit a request to the NBB by May 31st, 2019.

Annual Risk Assessments

In addition to completing the review process, financial institutions are also required to update their overall risk assessments on an annual basis or whenever significant events occur that could impact their risk profile. These updates must be documented and submitted to the NBB in accordance with Article 17 of the Anti-Money Laundering Law.

  • The NBB is urging financial institutions to prioritize actions based on the severity of identified gaps.
  • Institutions are also required to ensure the overall coherence of their action plans.

Ongoing Monitoring

The NBB is reminding institutions that they must periodically review their quantitative and qualitative information to ensure that their risk assessments remain relevant and effective.

  • “The update of the overall risk assessment is a crucial step in ensuring that our financial institutions are adequately prepared to combat money laundering and terrorist financing,” said [NBB Official].
  • “We expect all financial institutions to take these requirements seriously and to implement any necessary changes to maintain compliance with AML/CFT regulations.”

Additional Information

Financial institutions can find more information on the reporting requirements and submission methods on the NBB’s website.