Nor Shamsiah Mohd Yunus: Raising the bar in compliance and enforcement Opening address by Ms Nor Shamsiah Mohd Yunus, Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Malaysia, at the International Conference on Financial Crime and Terrorism Financing (IFCTF) 2011 – “Raising the Bar in Compliance and Enforcement”, Kuala Lumpur, 19 September 2011. *  *  *  It is my pleasure to wish all of you a warm welcome to this Third Annual International Conference on Financial Crime and Terrorism Financing. We are indeed privileged today to have the presence of Yang Berhormat Dato’ Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein, Minister of Home Affairs of Malaysia, who has kindly agreed to deliver the keynote address, and officiate the opening of this conference. His presence reflects the significance placed by the Government of Malaysia on the roles and contributions of the financial sector in supporting the national agenda to combat and reduce crime, particularly economic and financial crime as well as terrorist financing, which is crucial in maintaining the integrity and stability of our financial system. On behalf of the financial sector, I wish to extend our gratitude to Yang Berhormat Dato’ Seri for gracing today’s event. I also am heartened by the continuous and encouraging participation of the private and public sectors in this conference. Now in its third year, this conference has become a hallmark event that brings together various stakeholders in Malaysia and from abroad, to discuss issues relating to financial crimes and terrorist financing.

While the financial sector has, over the years, strengthened its risk management and control functions to combat financial crimes, a higher degree of emphasis and attention by senior management and the Board, on issues relating to AML/CFT, can further improve the standards of compliance and the effectiveness of measures put in place to fight against money laundering and terrorist financing. We also observed that financial institutions exhibiting effective defences against financial crimes shared four common attributes in their AML/CFT framework. These are: (i) well developed and clearly articulated policies and procedures; (ii) effective governance structure, particularly on the compliance function; (iii) incorporation of AML/CFT compliance assessments in the audit and capacity development programmes; and (iv) increased and effective use of information technology and management information systems for AML/CFT risk monitoring and management. therefore, talent development in this area is becoming increasingly critical. A well trained workforce is a valuable asset that would contribute to the implementation of an effective compliance framework with impactful results. This can be achieved through the formulation  2  BIS central bankers’ speeches  of structured and coordinated capacity development programmes aimed at elevating the level of technical skills, leadership and professionalism. On this note, Bank Negara Malaysia lauds the initiative by the financial sector in formulating the AML/CFT Certification Programme for compliance officers that will be launched during this conference. This conference and indeed the theme “Raising the Bar in Compliance and Enforcement” is very timely and relevant.