Several major banks including Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Standard Chartered, Citi, J.P. Morgan Chase and Commerzbank have agreed to work with SWIFT’s KYC Registry, which is due to launch at the end of 2014. The registry will provide a centralized repository for information that banks must provide as part of their KYC due diligence, according to a statement released by SWIFT today at the SWIFT Business Forum announcing the agreement.
As regulators continue to hone in on banks’ KYC tools and processes, a central theme at the forum, the registry will aim to help financial institutions quickly access necessary information and cut costs related to KYC compliance. “KYC is the topic of 2014. This is what regulatory auditors and investigators are looking at right now,” said James Wills, senior business manager for banking initiatives standards for the Americas at SWIFT, at a session about the registry.
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Related news link (SWIFT press release): SWIFT announces KYC Registry and dedicated Financial Crime Compliance unit