The Importance of NextGen Leaders and todays Business Model
The Guernsey Finance Industry update on the 19th January gave a very loud and clear message that Guernsey is obtaining good international engagement and is very much ‘open for business’.
Compliance Support Officer, Malta
In Malta, two regulatory bodies, which have impact on the licensees, are the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) and the Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit (FIAU).
There have been recent cases where entities have been cited in public statements and have suffered reputational damage. This is likely to have had three consequences, which have led to the following:
The language widely used among licensees to describe the role of regulators from their points of view appears to have become polarised between those who see regulators as “enablers of business” and those who take the negative view that they are “blockers of business”. Further, there is concern amongst individuals working with licensees to improve the robustness of their business models that they may be “caught up” in any subsequent prohibitions despite their role to address shortcomings.
In our view, regulators need to fulfil roles, which may be seen as conflicting. One relates to assisting Malta in the development of its financial sector, whilst the other involves ensuring that business is not of the type, which could be detrimental to our reputation, thus damaging that same sector.
However, with the increase in monetary fines issued by the FIAU in relation to AML/CFT failures, the increase in regulatory inspections and the influx of new and proposed regulations, suggest that there is a perception that the competent authorities are increasingly more interested in playing their enforcement roles as opposed to a role of helping develop the sector locally. That is highly unlikely to be the case but it appears to be the common perception.
The traditional response is often that it is better to “keep one’s head down” to avoid attention, which is not helpful. A lack of willingness to engage may stem from a lack of trust and that requires attention.
Consider the benefits, which might flow from a truly collaborative relationship between licensees and regulators:
In the UK, the Joint Money Laundering Steering Group (JMLSG) is a private sector body made up of the leading UK Trade Associations in the financial service industry. The JMLSG produces guidance to assist those in financial industry sectors to comply with their regulatory obligations.
We already have associations in place such as the Malta Association of Compliance Officers (MACO), and the Malta Association of Risk Management (MARM), both of which serve to act as a professional industry voice on matters related to compliance and risk in Malta. Perhaps, these associations in collaboration with the Malta Regulators can produce more guidance to the industry, which will assist licensed entities in fulfilling their regulatory obligations.
Whilst we recognise such a move will not happen without a conscious effort, it is our contention that the benefits of a truly collaborative relationship between licensees and regulatory bodies would be a hugely positive step for the local finance industry.
The Guernsey Finance Industry update on the 19th January gave a very loud and clear message that Guernsey is obtaining good international engagement and is very much ‘open for business’.
Aspida Group celebrate the graduation of the first trainees of our groundbreaking Advisory Trainee Programme as Blaine and Dan are busy planning for their 4 week sabbaticals. Bee McDaid and Dan Radford were the initial members of Aspida’s
The Guernsey branch of the Institute of Directors (IoD) continues its members-only director development series, sponsored by Aspida Advisory Services, for a second year. After a successful launch in 2022, the IoD will run three