AML Perspectives The Bank Secrecy Act (or “BSA”) has long been part of the regulatory landscape as a fundamental component of the safety and soundness process. In fact, most professionals who currently work for or with financial institutions do not recall when BSA was not a critical component of the financial institution [...]
AML Perspectives Prevailing FFIEC guidance indicates the Bank Secrecy Act/Anti-Money Laundering (BSA/AML) risk assessment is fundamental to achieving an effective risk-based BSA/AML compliance program. In fact, the FFIEC BSA/AML Examination Manual emphasizes that examiners evaluate the financial institution’s risk assessment as part of the planning and scoping phase of the examination. [...]
AML Perspectives The challenges of BSA/AML compliance continue to evolve for financial institutions as they seek to meet heightened regulatory expectations in areas such as Customer Due Diligence (CDD) or in automating monitoring processes, all while effectively managing the associated cost of ongoing compliance. In the meantime, the Financial Action Task [...]
Although much has changed for financial institutions since the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations (COSO) issued the Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) – Integrated Framework in 2004, much has remained the same. A financial services professional need only check their inbox or scroll through their newsfeed to ascertain that financial institutions, both large and small, are holding [...]
When it comes to enterprise risk management, strategic process planning doesn't just apply to larger financial institutions. Smaller banks are often under the impression that they don't have the means necessary to be able to implement strategies. Doug Mims explains 3 benefits that any size bank will start to see when they embrace [...]
Just as a mountaineer needs a well-trained glacier team to reach the summit of Everest, community banks need effective audit committees to be successful in today’s challenging and changing regulatory and accounting environment. Audit committees provide needed oversight in the areas of risk management and financial reporting. An engaged audit committee is an important attribute [...]
Approximately 2.1 million Americans get married every year, and that number is continuing to rise. As the economy has improved and the banking industry has recovered from the mortgage meltdown, bank marriages (a.k.a., financial institution mergers and acquisitions) are also now in vogue. The banking industry is feeling pressure to tie the knot and “grow the [...]
Executive sessions can present valuable opportunities for bank audit committee members to learn more about their roles. Watch as Chris Cain explains 3 key benefits of executive sessions, such as a safe environment in which committee members can ask questions to gain clarity on complex topics.
Just as a librarian’s primary duty is to supervise his or her library, one important goal of corporate governance is to provide organizations with appropriate oversight. This strategic guidance is integral to many organizations, particularly financial institutions. In fact, the regulatory expectations for bank board members – including sound corporate governance development and education – [...]
The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) released a much-anticipated standard that introduces the current expected credit losses (CECL) methodology. The CECL model requires financial institutions to immediately record the full amount of predicted credit losses in their loan portfolios rather than waiting until the losses are deemed probable (as required by the current incurred loss [...]
Watch Heather Barber as she discusses how CRI guided a client in complying with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Improvement Act (FDICIA) and shares advice on how to simplify the FDICIA implementation process.
Watch Chris Cain as he discusses a client engagement that required all parties involved to keep a close eye on Banking Secrecy Act (BSA) monitoring parameters.
When some people hear of bank robbers, they often think of Bonnie and Clyde, Jesse James, or Danny Ocean’s hand-picked team of thieves depicted in the Oceans 11 movie series. Today’s bank robbers do not necessarily ride off on horses into the sunset or garner the attention of a Hollywood movie. The fictionalized bank robber has [...]
While what happens in Vegas may sometimes stay in Vegas, when a community bank experiences customer data breaches that typically makes the news. So what steps should a financial institution take to ensure it meets the requirements of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA)? From loan reviews to service organization controls (SOC) reports, community banks often choose [...]
Previously, we provided an overview of the Allowance for Loan and Lease Losses (ALLL), and now let’s discuss how community banks should apply the guidance. A typical loan loss reserve methodology would provide for the timely identification of potentially impaired loans as defined under the Accounting Standards Codification (ASC) 310 Receivables, the Loan Impairment guidance. [...]
"Banks today need at least $1 billion in assets to stay independent." We’ve all heard this supposed truism—but is it accurate? Or can community banks survive in today’s highly regulated and complex environment? One truth is that the number of small banks has steadily declined in recent years. In 2013, the number of federally insured [...]
Community banks are a target for cybersecurity breaches. A cybersecurity audit tests internal controls, processes, and network security to identify potential weaknesses. Watch David Mills discuss the importance of a community bank cybersecurity audit and tests that auditors may use during an audit.
Employees are the biggest cybersecurity risk to community banks. Why? Often times, employees are trying to be helpful and they violate security policies while doing so. To combat cybersecurity risks, banks should perform penetration testing and social engineering often. Watch David Mills discuss how CRI's team of IT auditors can help your community [...]
There’s a lot of uncertainty in the financial institutions industry regarding the Proposed Current Expected Credit Loss (CECL) Model. CECL shifts the focus of loan data to expected losses from probable losses and looks at the life of the loan instead of a one-year duration period. Watch Doug Mims and Chris Cain discuss [...]
New technologies and the economic decline have created a need for strong community bank internal controls in order to go for the gold. For a community bank, understanding borrowers’ control systems is a required step of loan due diligence because borrowers with weak internal controls expose community banks to greater risk of problems in their [...]
