De-risking will remain a priority for FATF. The FATF continues to monitor closely developments related to de-risking, including the fact gathering and analytical work conducted by other bodies – notably the Financial Stability Board (FSB), the Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructure (CPMI), the International Monetary Fund and Union of Arab Banks, the Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion, the Basel Committee, the World Bank Group, and the World Trade Organization. The FATF will also continue to engage with other international bodies, countries, the private sector and civil society on this important issue. The FATF will also invite the Secretariats of the FSB and the CPMI to its next working group meeting to facilitate coordination and engagement on these important issues.
Analytical work so far undertaken by different bodies, including the FATF, shows that de-risking is being driven by many different factors. This is a serious concern for FATF and the FATF-style regional bodies to the extent that de-risking may drive financial transactions underground which creates financial exclusion and reduces transparency, thereby increasing money laundering and terrorist financing risks.
The drivers of de-risking are complex and include: profitability; reputational risk; lower risk appetites of banks; and regulatory burdens related to the implementation of anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing (AML/CFT) requirements, the increasing number of sanctions regimes, and regulatory requirements in financial sector. The FATF is acting quickly to clarify regulatory expectations in four areas that are particularly relevant to de-risking to ensure that AML/CFT measures are being implemented effectively and in line with its risk-based approach. In particular, the FATF is:
- developing guidance to clarify how to properly identify and manage risk in the context of correspondent banking and  remittances. This guidance will address the issues highlighted by the FATF in its June 2015 statement on de-risking.
- developing guidance to help money remitters identify and manage their risks, and to help banks evaluate and manage the risks of providing financial services to money remitters. This guidance will also help governments supervise these activities.
- developing best practices on appropriate customer due diligence to facilitate financial inclusion in a manner that strikes an appropriate balance with AML/CFT objectives, and
- revising the relevant standard to help governments properly identify those non-profit organisations which are most vulnerable to terrorist financing abuse, and address those risks in a proportionate way. This work builds on the FATF Best Practices on Combating the Abuse of Non-Profit Organisations which was issued in June 2015.