Banking
4 Challenges Your Bank Must Overcome to Effectively Combat Financial Crime
One frightening reality that bank executives may have a hard time accepting is that, with the advent of technology, their institutions are becoming increasingly vulnerable to financial crime.
It isn’t just an issue of money launderers, terrorist backers, and other malicious agents running rife in these times of economic precarity. Such actors are also getting even better at their game, and the structural defenses that banks may have used against them in the past are no longer sufficient. When all that is added to the general difficulty of modernizing a bank’s anti-money laundering (AML) system and meeting the demands of its AML regulators, protecting an institution against financial crime seems like a weighty task indeed.
But on the issue of keeping your bank’s assets safe from the taint of criminal activity, there’s no way to go but up. With every year that passes, your bank should be able to strengthen its AML compliance, case management, and transaction monitoring processes. The goal is to evolve faster than criminal agents’ methods and to make sure that your data and monetary assets remain safely out of their reach.
Below are four challenges that you should overcome to be at an advantage when combating financial crime. Address these issues now and avoid the risk of being permanently compromised by criminal activity.
The Limitations of Your Current AML and Financial Crime Compliance Management Systems
You may not realize it, but one of your biggest obstacles to forming a full response to financial crime is your legacy AML compliance system.
If it’s been a long time since you updated your bank’s tech stack for AML functions, your institution is particularly vulnerable to threats. Savvy criminals can take full advantage of slow, siloed-off, delay-ridden, and case-congested AML structures. Indeed, these malicious individuals can wreak significant damage to a bank by exploiting an outdated system’s weaknesses.
If you want a fighting chance against financial crime, it’s in your best interest to upgrade to a consolidated AML solution that runs on the cloud. Having an overarching platform for AML will get your bank up to speed in terms of real-time transaction analytics, visibility over your customer enrollments, and coordination among stakeholders in your AML investigations. Upgrade as soon as possible so that there’s little legroom for financial criminals to move around in.
Increasingly Complex Schemes from Money Laundering Networks
The second challenge that you must address is your understanding of how money laundering networks and other criminal rings currently operate.
Too many banking execs still envision financial crime to play out just like it does on TV: in an obvious and predictable manner. But in truth, most criminals have adapted their methods to be even more sophisticated and undetectable to the naked eye. Over the years, they have become even better at covering their tracks and disguising their movements to look like those of legitimate customers.
An institution cannot be too complacent about keeping up with criminal trends and connecting its systems to the news, international watchlists, sanction lists, and lists of politically exposed persons (PEPs). You and your team should stay on your toes and pay careful attention to any anomalies that occur in your system—not only for individuals but also for patterns or webs of suspicious customer behaviour.
Inefficient Approaches to AML Case Management
A third issue that may stand in the way of nipping criminal activity in the bud is your bank’s piecemeal approach to AML case management and investigation work.
If your bank relies on a case management method of simply segregating the false positives from cases of legitimate concern, it could spell your financial institution’s doom. In the long time that it takes to review individual cases and flag them one by one, you may have already been significantly compromised by the false negatives.
Because of this, make it a point to rethink your AML case management strategy to be quicker, less overwhelmed by congestion, and more efficient with your investigators’ attention. Again, there’s value in employing a pattern-based crime detection system and training your staff to look at both cases of concern and webs of suspicious activity, as certain cases in these groups may ultimately be related. This approach will also help investigators zero in on cases of alarm and resolve them with greater speed and accuracy.
Deficiencies in the Audit and Compliance Trail
It’s never easy to keep a paper trail for AML audits and other efforts toward full financial crime compliance. That said, it’s housekeeping work that banks urgently need to do. Without organized and updated systems for tracking AML governance and transparency, a bank will stay in the dark about just how effective its AML system has been over the years. Needless to say, it may falter when it’s time to submit to its regulators—or, worse yet, when actual criminals come knocking.
Your bank shouldn’t be remiss in compiling its documentation work and keeping financial crime compliance reports. Be up to date about the performance of your AML system and which aspects of it require technological or operational improvement.
Bolstering Your Bank’s Defenses Against Threats of Financial Crime
Steering clear of financial crime shouldn’t be a matter of luck for your bank. You must be purposeful in your efforts to strengthen its defense against criminals and its compliance record with your regulators. Even if you don’t envision your institution as an easy target for criminal networks, you never know when they may attack. What matters is that you’re prepared and that your assets are sufficiently protected when—not if—your bank becomes their next target.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Access Bank Plc, the banking subsidiary of Access Holdings Plc, has entered into a binding agreement with South African-based Bidvest Group Limited for the acquisition of 100 per cent equity stake in Bidvest Bank Limited.
The deal for the 24-year-old South African lender is due to be completed in the second half of 2025, upon regulatory approval.
This shows Access Bank’s further expansion plans in line with goals set by its late founder, Mr Herbert Wigwe.
The agreement to acquire 100 percent stake in Bidvest Bank reflects Access Bank’s commitment to strengthening its footprint in South Africa and consolidating on its position as the continent’s gateway to global markets as it seeks to optimise the benefits of recent acquisitions and accelerate its transition towards a greater focus on efficiencies.
Bidvest Bank, founded in 2000 is a niche and profitable South African financial institution providing a diverse range of services, including corporate and business banking solutions and diverse retail banking products.
As of its year ended June 2024, Bidvest Bank reported total assets equivalent of $665million and audited profit before tax of $20million.
Upon conclusion of this acquisition, Bidvest Bank will be merged with the bank’s existing South African subsidiary to create an enlarged platform to anchor the regional growth strategy for the SADC region.
This is coming just as the bank opened a new branch in Malta as part of efforts to focus on international trade finance after obtaining a banking licence from the European Central Bank (ECB) and the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA).
Access Bank said the licence marks a transformative milestone in bolstering Europe-Africa trade flows.
The Maltese branch was established by Access Bank UK Limited, the subsidiary of Access Bank Plc, which is also the subsidiary of Access Holdings Plc, which is listed on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
To strengthen Europe-Africa trade ties, Access Bank has opened a new branch in Malta. It will focus on international trade finance, employing approximately 30 people in its initial phase, with plans for controlled expansion over time.
It was learned that this Maltese branch was established by Access Bank UK Limited, the subsidiary of Access Bank Plc, which is also the subsidiary of Access Holdings Plc, which is listed on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited.
Access Bank Malta Limited commenced operations after obtaining a banking licence from the European Central Bank (ECB) and the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA).
Access Bank said the licence marks a transformative milestone in bolstering Europe-Africa trade flows.
Malta, a renowned international financial centre, and a gateway between the two continents, is strategically positioned to play a pivotal role in advancing commerce and fostering economic partnerships.
This strategic expansion into Malta enables The Access Bank UK Limited to leverage growing trade opportunities between Europe and Africa.
It underscores the organisation’s commitment to driving global trade, financial integration, and supporting businesses across these regions.
“By establishing operations in Malta, we will gain a foothold in a market that bridges European and North African economies, moving us one step closer to our goal of becoming Africa’s Gateway to the World.
“It further enhances our bank’s capacity to support clients with innovative solutions tailored to cross-border trade and investment opportunities,” the chief executive of Access Bank, Mr Roosevelt Ogbonna, stated.
“Europe has emerged as Africa’s leading trading partner, driven by initiatives such as the Economic Partnership Agreements between the EU and African regions and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
“With Europe-Africa economic relations entering a new phase, The Access Bank Malta Limited is ideally positioned to deepen trade and meet the financing and banking needs of our clients in these expanding markets,” the chief executive of Access Bank UK, Mr Jamie Simmonds, commented.
Also speaking, the chief executive of Access Bank Malta, Renald Theuma, said, “Malta is uniquely positioned as a bridge between Europe and Africa, making it an ideal location for our subsidiary. This move allows The Access Bank Malta Limited to engage more closely with customers in Europe and deliver tailored financial solutions that drive growth and connectivity across both continents.”
By Adedapo Adesanya
The International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Goldman Sachs have announced a new partnership with African banks, including Nigeria’s Zenith Bank and Stanbic IBTC Nigeria to support the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women initiative, a joint programme launched in 2008 to provide access to capital and training for women entrepreneurs globally.
The two Nigerian banks are part of nine financial institutions from across Africa which have agreed to join the 10,000 Women initiative committing to leverage the business education and skills tools the programme provides to create more opportunities for women entrepreneurs across the continent by providing access to business education.
Others banks include Stanbic Bank Kenya, Ecobank Kenya, Ecobank Cote d’Ivoire, Equity Bank Group, Banco Millenium Atlantico – Angola, Baobab Group, and Orange Bank.
Speaking on this, Ms Charlotte Keenan, Managing Director at Goldman Sachs said – “10,000 Women has had a powerful impact to date, but we know that there are more women to reach and more potential to be realized.
“We are delighted to partner with IFC to supercharge the growth of women-owned businesses across Africa, and mainstream lending to female business leaders. We remain committed to supporting entrepreneurs with the access to education and capital that they need to scale.”
Since 2008, the 10,000 Women initiative has provided access to capital and business training to more than 200,000 women in 150 countries.
“This expanded initiative marks a significant step forward in creating equitable economic opportunities for women in Africa, enabling them to build stronger, more resilient businesses and to realize their entrepreneurial goals,” said Ms Nathalie Kouassi Akon, IFC’s Global Director for Gender and Economic Inclusion.
Goldman Sachs’ 10,000 Women initiative complements the Women Entrepreneurs Opportunity Facility (WEOF), launched in 2014 by Goldman Sachs and IFC as the first-of-its-kind global facility dedicated to expanding access to capital for women entrepreneurs in emerging markets.
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