NBB Reinforces its Commitment towards a Compliance Adhering Culture
In line with the National Bank of Bahrain (NBB) continuous efforts to promote an enhanced AML (Anti-money laundering) compliance culture, and best practices to prevent financial crimes and fraud, the National Bank of Bahrain (NBB) announced that 29 of its employees from across the organization have completed an ICA Certificate in Know Your Customer (KYC) and Customer Due Diligence (CDD). The International Compliance Association (ICA) is a professional body responsible for global regulatory and financial crime compliance community since 2001. ICA offers several training, courses, qualifications and membership for professionals in AML, Compliance, KYC, Customer Due Diligence (CDD) and Financial Crime Prevention.
The ICA certificate in KYC and CDD provided the employees with the relevant base knowledge of the KYC and CDD that is essential for them to understand the bank’s customers and their financial activities and dealings to better identify, mitigate, and avoid the risk of AML, financial fraud, and crimes.
KYC and CDD is a mandatory requirement by the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) which requires all the banks in Bahrain to comply with the applicable laws, regulations and must implement programmes against Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing by establishing and maintaining appropriate systems and controls to limit the vulnerability to Financial Crime. The ICA certificate in KYC and CDD should enhance the employees’ knowledge and ability to detect such risks immediately whenever is suspected.
With the certification broken down into two parts, the bank’s employees followed a virtual training programme consisting of 3-months of self-study in which they had the flexibility to study at their own pace and time in order to successfully complete the exam and certification. The staff had full access to the online learning platform and course content and later on conducted their examination virtually.
Commenting on the certification, Rana Qambar, Group Chief Compliance Officer at NBB, said: KYC and CDD are regulatory requirements and fundamental practices to protect the bank from any kind of financial crime, fraud or losses resulting from illegal funds and transactions. The ICA Certificate is an important milestone for us by which all employees who attended it across various departments, are now equipped with the base knowledge and the necessary tools to combat any financial crime risks and are able to understand and help our customers with the knowledge they have acquired throughout the course.
The bank maintains its strategy of equipping its workforce with an up-to-date training and providing them with the necessary skillset to prepare them for any potential red flags that may arise while dealing with the clients.