Combating financial crime: Key themes and priorities for 2013 – speech by Tracey McDermott (FSA)

20 Nov 2012

Tracey McDermott, Director of the FSA’s Enforcement and Financial Crime Division, has given a speech entitled “Combating Financial Crime: Key themes and Priorities for 2013”. Many of the points raised will be familiar but some key points are:

• The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) will continue the FSA’s enforcement strategy for financial crime, however, the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) will have an interest in financial crime as well, to the extent that fraud against firms is a significant operational and reputational risk, and the PRA will want to know that a firm’s soundness is not compromised by these risks.

• The FCA’s focus on financial crime will be different. The FCA will be concerned about protecting consumers from financial criminals and stopping firms being a conduit for financial crime, such as money laundering.

• Thematic reviews will be a key part of the FCA’s work on financial crime. However, the FCA will conduct systematic recurrent in-depth reviews of anti-money laundering and sanctions systems at the largest investment and retail banks.

• The FSA is starting a thematic review of systems and controls at asset managers to counter money laundering, sanctions breaches, and bribery and corruption. The findings will be published in the third quarter of next year.

A copy of the speech is available. http://www.fsa.gov.uk/library/communication/speeches/2012/1115-tm.shtml