Banks, financial institutions, and money services businesses are entrusted with a unique responsibility for the safekeeping, transfer and/or investment of significant assets of others, which requires them to adhere to a higher standard of safety, soundness and financial stability.

An effective Corporate Governance Program is critical for financial institutions to discharge these responsibilities and adopt proper risk mitigation to be successful. A Corporate Governance Program establishes the structure and principles that allocate rights, responsibilities and accountability of various stakeholders in a company (e.g. Board of Directors, Management and Shareholders, Creditors, Auditors and Regulators). It includes structure, policies and procedures for making sound corporate decisions in the context of the social, regulatory and market environment.

Financial institutions today operate in an environment of ever-increasing laws and regulations, including Anti-Money Laundering (e.g. Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) and PATRIOT Act). Given the heightened level of scrutiny by regulators - such as the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the Federal Deposit Insurance Commission (FDIC), the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the U.K. Serious Fraud Office – failure to adhere to such laws and regulations may subject them, their employees, officers, and directors to substantial fines, penalties, seizure and other consequences, including imprisonment.

Accordingly, both domestic and international financial institutions face unique compliance risks due to the nature of their business and clients. Consequently, it is imperative that they adopt an effective Compliance Program with appropriate policies, procedures, training, and other controls to prevent and detect violations of law.

With a team of former in-house counsel and advisors, MDO is entirely comfortable striking the right balance between creating an effective governance and compliance program that compliments a company’s operations without stifling business growth, agility or creativity. Ultimately, the Corporate Governance and Compliance Programs we develop are collaborative efforts among various stakeholders who appreciate the importance of mitigating serious risks, but are comfortable identifying reasonable limitations and boundaries, so that there is an appropriate balance between risk mitigation, governance protocols and business operations.

MDO Partner’s expertise in extensive auditory reviews covering BSA, compliance, loans, deposits, internal audit and operations, and risk assessments allow us to serve our client’s needs and provide them with proper monitoring systems for their business. Our expertise also extends to ensuring proper monitoring of international private banking accounts for banks with foreign clients. We have experts with experience assessing risk and strategizing risk management for banks with clients in Venezuela, Brazil, Panama, Colombia, Uruguay, Argentina, and the Caribbean.