Anti-Laundering Compliance Costs Mount
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Complying with anti-money laundering laws has been much more expensive than banks anticipated, and some still aren’t meeting all requirements, a new survey says. Banks around the world saw compliance costs jump an average of 58 percent over the past three years more than in the previous three years, and higher than the 43 percent increase banks predicted in 2004, said a survey commissioned by Swiss cooperative KPMG International. Among the six regions surveyed, North American banks saw the highest percentage cost increase, with costs rising 71 percent over the last three years. The Middle East and Africa region was close behind with a rise of 70 percent. Banks’ compliance costs rose 58 percent in Europe; 37 percent in Asia; 59 percent in Central and South America; and 60 percent in Russia. Most of the money went toward buying technological systems and hiring experienced personnel to monitor transactions, said the KPMG report, which did not measure the dollar value of the costs. More : abcnews.go.com |