Cyprus banks on USA roadshow to showcase compliance

A delegation representing Cyprus’ banking sector is in the US to take part in an annual roadshow with a focus on showcasing the banks’ commitment and compliance towards policies dealing with money laundering and terrorism financing.

For this sixth visit of its kind, the delegation is made up of the heads of the regulatory compliance departments of four of the nine banks belonging to the Association of Cyprus Banks - under whose umbrella the whole project began and continues to be carried out.

More specifically, the participating banks are the Bank of Cyprus, Hellenic Bank, Eurobank, and AstroBank.

During the USA visit, the delegation of Cypriot banks will have high-level contacts and meetings in Washington and New York, both on a political-economic and technocratic level, such as with the competent regulatory authorities of the USA, correspondent banks and delegations of global banks, with members of the US Congress (including the Senate and House) and a number of other prominent elected officials, bodies, institutions and personalities of the political, economic and business world.

The purpose of this year's roadshow is none other than to highlight the huge steps that Cyprus, and especially the banks of our island, have made in terms of compliance reforms in AML and CTF issues, which is also reflected in the occasional reports by competent international organisations, such as Moneyval, in recent years.

At the same time, the delegation is highlighting the fact that Cypriot banks have left distortions of the past behind them, now basing their operation in the context of - despite whatever challenges they still face - an overall healthy environment. They will aim to convey the message that the Cyprus of today is a stable, reliable financial centre and an ideal destination for investments.

It is worth pointing out that this year's roadshow also coincides with the presence of the President of the Republic Nikos Christodoulides in New York for the annual UN General Assembly, on the sidelines of which the priority is, among other things, the effort to attract quality American investments.

With highlighting the regulatory compliance steps taken by the Cypriot banks a key issue during the mission’s contacts in the USA, a powerful argument, as competent sources pointed out to InBusinessNews, will be the approach taken by banks during the recent sanctions that, against the background of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, both the USA and the UK imposed on natural and legal persons, including those with direct or indirect connection to Cyprus.

Even though, in contrast to the sanctions of the EU and the UN, there is no legal framework for mandatory compliance by Cyprus banks, for about a decade they have been implementing a variety of sanctions imposed by the USA and the UK (including in the post-Brexit era).

The fact that they implemented them immediately also indicates their clear determination towards the goal sought by the international community, decisively adding to the overall positive image they clearly want to communicate to their contacts in the US.

(Source: InBusinessNews)