Saint Lucia to Benefit from Banking Compliance Training

A series of engagements in Washington on de-risking has resulted in an opportunity for Saint Lucian and other regional financial entities and authorities to benefit from training on March 30-31 – announced Saint Lucia’s Ambassador to the United States. Specifically, the region stands to benefit from training endorsed by the American Bankers Association (ABA) and the Bankers Association for Foreign Trade (BAFT).

BAFT’s Respondent’s Playbook for Obtaining and Maintaining a Correspondent Banking Relationship was published in 2019 and is part of BAFT’s effort to address the significant decline of correspondent banking relationships worldwide since 2011. The Playbook will be the basis of training and provides detailed practical information to inform respondent banks about expectations of US correspondents. The handbook was developed based on contributions from most of the major correspondent banks – this both from a business and compliance perspective.

“I am pleased that our CARICOM caucus engagement has ultimately led to this collaboration with the ABA and BAFT”, commented Ambassador Edmunds. “The participation of the Saint Lucian banking sector in this training, along with any parties involved in our regulatory and oversight space is critical. This as it would serve to indicate to not only U.S. banks but also to U.S. regulators, that our country takes the issue of banking compliance seriously”, he concluded. The ABA and BAFT are premier American financial services associations.

CARICOM Ambassadors in Washington D.C. have been actively involved in advocating for solutions to the issue of de-risking and the withdrawal of correspondent banking relations from the region. It should also be noted that U.S. Department of State is also working with the Florida International Bankers Association (FIBA) to undertake a similar initiative by that particular group. Information on the BAFT Playbook training has been shared with the Saint Lucia Banking Association and the Caribbean Association of Banks, which is headquartered in Saint Lucia.