Meeting held in collaboration with Wolfsberg Group in Paris

Walid El-Seyoufi

KUWAIT: The National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) and Boubyan Bank participated in the MENA Financial Crime Compliance Group (MENA FCCG) meeting held in collaboration with the Wolfsberg Group in Paris, France to bring collective action in the fight against Money Laundering and Terror Financing.

The objective of this private event was to raise confidence in MENA's Financial Sectors by sharing compliance best practices, whilst exchanging concerns with regards to correspondent banking relationships; relaying MENA banking sectors' commitment to safeguarding credibility, integrity, and trust in it.

Among the distinguished guests, MENA FCCG was honored to have the participation of the Chairman of the Union of Arab Banks, Sheikh Mohamed Al-Jarrah Al-Sabah, and the Chairman of the US-MENA Private Sector Dialogue initiative, Dr Muhammad Baasiri.

NBK and Boubyan Bank's participation came in line with their status as founding members of the MENA FCCG. Commenting on the participation, Walid Gamal El Din El Seyoufi, Deputy General Manager for Group Risk Management and Compliance at National Bank of Kuwait (NBK), said: "The meeting is a landmark event held in the collaboration with the world's largest financial institutions with an objective to improve the abilities of member-banks to overcome the challenges of the banking sector as well as to build stronger relations between participating banks. NBK's participation in the meeting comes in line with its leadership in adopting international best practices in risk management."

El Seyoufi added that meeting comes at a time when banking and financial institutions are fighting Money Laundering and Terror Financing, stressing that NBK has adopted a solid strategy to reduce risks affecting its various activities, and therefore focusing on the quality of customers, services and banking products offered to them while providing maximum protection to the Bank.

He pointed out that NBK has successfully mitigated risks that are driven by different work environment throughout the Bank's large and diversified network which expands over four continents, thanks to policies consistent with international best practices.

On his part, Nadim Safa, Head of Compliance at Boubyan Bank, said that the meeting is the first of its kind for the members of the Wolfsberg Group and representatives of Middle Eastern banks. The meeting enables member-banks from coordinating and exchanging with the Group, as well as hold meetings that aim to facilitate financial relations with other banks of the Group which are among the largest and most important correspondent banks in the world.

He added that the participation of Boubyan Bank reflects the Bank's commitment to strengthening its relations with major banks and to ensure it works by the international standards in fighting all types of financial crimes.

Established in 2016, MENA FCCG consists of 12 proactive leading private financial institutions from various Arab countries, comprising NBK, Boubyan Bank, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, Arab Bank, Al Baraka Banking Group, Arab Banking Corporation, Bank Audi, Bank Muscat, Commercial Bank of Qatar, Emirates NBD, Mashreq Bank, National Bank of Egypt, as well as the Union of Arab Banks (UAB) and Thomson Reuters as Strategic Partners.

In collaboration with the Wolfsberg Group, MENA FCCG hopes to facilitate for smaller MENA Banks the filling of the Wolfsberg updated Due Diligence Questionnaire via a series of webinars and dedicated trainings.

The Wolfsberg updated Due Diligence questionnaire (CBDDQ) aims to set an enhanced standard for Correspondent Banking Due Diligence, that, if adopted across the industry, will create efficiencies, raise the bar on fighting financial crime, and make the international financial system stronger. As a result, costs of compliance could be trimmed, the speed of new on boarding reduced but, more importantly, a transparent global standard established so that Correspondent Banks can operate, more than ever, on a more level playing field, mitigating de-risking.

The Wolfsberg Group is an association of thirteen of the most influential global banks, gathering financial institutions from North America, Europe and Asia. Among its renowned achievements, the Group publishes and updates a series of principles which are known as "The Wolfsberg Standards"; banking guidelines that are recognized and applied by a vast regulatory and financial community across the world.