Wolfsberg News (May 20th, 2009)

9 Industry Groups issue Joint Statement on the Upcoming SWIFT Message Format Change

The Bankers Association for Finance and Trade, The Clearing House, The European Banking Federation, The International Banking Federation, The International Chamber of Commerce, The International Council of Securities Associations, The International Financial Services Association, SWIFT and The Wolfsberg Group are issuing this joint statement and associated presentation in order to raise awareness regarding the new SWIFT Message Format for Cover Payments, which will go live on November 21st, 2009. This joint communication was developed as the organizations involved have been active in the area of cover payments for some time now and are therefore seeking, collectively, to apprise others in the industry, and beyond, of the forthcoming changes to the payments system and its implications, which may be substantial.
 

  Joint Industry Letter on MT 202 COV
  Joint Industry Slides on MT 202 COV
 
  

May 4th 2009

The Wolfsberg Group has just issued a paper entitled "Wolfsberg AML Guidance on Credit/Charge Card Issuing and Merchant Acquiring Activities." The purpose of this paper is to consider the threats to, and vulnerabilities of, credit/charge card “Issuing” activities in relation to money laundering and provide guidance on managing these risks as part of a comprehensive approach to AML compliance management. The paper also addresses merchant acquiring (“Acquiring”) - the underwriting, provision and maintenance of Point of Sale relationships. Acquiring activities, and their attendant AML controls, may be closely aligned to the risks and controls associated with cards, and many large financial institutions extend services to both card and merchant customers. This paper does not consider Debit Cards, including “Automated Teller Machine” only products which are solely linked to deposit accounts or Stored-value / Pre-paid cards. This guidance should be considered in conjunction with other Wolfsberg Group papers as appropriate - in particular its principles on the Risk Based Approach.
 

  Wolfsberg AML Guidance on Credit/Charge Card Issuing and Merchant Acquiring Activities (May 2009)
 

Global Banks: Global Standards

The Wolfsberg Group is an association of eleven global banks, which aims to develop financial services industry standards, and related products, for Know Your Customer, Anti-Money Laundering and Counter Terrorist Financing policies.

The Group came together in 2000, at the Château Wolfsberg in north-eastern Switzerland, in the company of representatives from Transparency International, including Stanley Morris, and Professor Mark Pieth of the University of Basel, to work on drafting anti-money laundering guidelines for Private Banking.  The Wolfsberg Anti-Money Laundering Principles for Private Banking were subsequently published in October 2000 (and revised in May 2002).

The Group then published a Statement on the Financing of Terrorism in January 2002, and also released the Wolfsberg Anti-Money Laundering Principles for Correspondent Banking in November 2002 and the Wolfsberg Statement on Monitoring Screening and Searching in September 2003. In 2004, the Wolfsberg Group focused on the development of a due diligence model for financial institutions, in co-operation with Banker's Almanac, thereby fulfilling one of the recommendations made in the Correspondent Banking Principles. More information is available by clicking on the "Due Diligence Repository" link above.

During 2005 and early 2006, the Wolfsberg Group of banks actively worked on four separate papers, all of which aim to provide guidance with regard to a number of areas of banking activity where standards had yet to be fully articulated by lawmakers or regulators.  It was hoped that these papers would provide general assistance to industry participants and regulatory bodies when shaping their own policies and guidance, as well as making a valuable contribution to the fight against money laundering.  The papers were all published in June 2006, and consisted of two sets of guidance: Guidance on a Risk Based Approach for Managing Money Laundering Risks and AML Guidance for Mutual Funds and Other Pooled Investment Vehicles.  Also published were FAQs on AML issues in the Context of Investment and Commercial Banking and FAQs on Correspondent Banking, which complement the other sets of FAQs available on the site: on Beneficial Ownership, Politically Exposed Persons and Intermediaries.

In early 2007, the Wolfsberg Group issued its Statement against Corruption, in close association with Transparency International and the Basel Institute on Governance. It describes the role of the Wolfsberg Group and financial institutions more generally in support of international efforts to combat corruption. The Statement against Corruption identifies some of the measures financial institutions may consider in order to prevent corruption in their own operations and protect themselves against the misuse of their operations in relation to corruption. Shortly thereafter, the Wolfsberg Group and The Clearing House Association LLC issued a statement endorsing measures to enhance the transparency of international wire transfers to promote the effectiveness of global anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist financing programmes.

You may reach the websites of the individual member banks of the Wolfsberg Group via the links to the right.