BIS: Closing the loop: AML/CFT supervision of correspondent banking

05 September 2020

Under the auspice of the Financial Stability Board's four point action plan, several international organisations have taken measures to address the decline in correspondent banking relationships.

Under the auspice of the Financial Stability Board's four point action plan, several international organisations have taken measures to address the decline in correspondent banking relationships, including further examining the dimensions of the decline and implications for financial inclusion and financial stability; clarifying regulatory expectations; supporting domestic capacity-building in jurisdictions that are home to affected respondent banks; and strengthening tools for due diligence by correspondent banks.

Effective supervision is also crucial to successfully addressing some of the concerns which may lead to loss of relationships. This paper aims to contribute to the international dialogue by focusing on supervisory practices relating to correspondent banking activities. In view of the observed decline in correspondent banking relationships, practices to address excessive de-risking were a particular area of consideration. As a general matter, while the study found that legal and regulatory frameworks are consistent with international standards, their implementation is more variable and would benefit from greater alignment with the standards and convergence across jurisdictions.

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