China Construction Bank DIFC Branch (the Bank) has recently taken the initiative to adapt to changes in the regulatory environment, focus on improving compliance management and promote compliance culture and education in the circumstances of the recurring Covid-19 Pandemic and the dynamic international and regional regulatory situation. Compliance trainings have been tailored to different audiences and held in various ways to actively create a good compliance culture for the whole staff, in a comprehensive manner and throughout the process, and to promote the integration of compliance into the daily operation and management activities of the Bank.
I．Conduct anti-money laundering and sanctions compliance training to enhance the compliance awareness of all employees
On March 2022, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) was added to the list of jurisdictions under increased monitoring (Grey List) by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). The UAE government attaches great importance to anti-money laundering, anti-terrorist financing and combating financial crimes, and has taken various measures to remove itself from the Grey List as soon as possible. The Bank has conducted several rounds of mandatory compliance training on anti-money laundering and sanctions compliance, taking into account local laws, regulations and guidelines, to ensure that regulatory requirements and good practices were delivered to every employee in a timely manner. Post-training test has been designed for the key contents of the training to make sure the effectiveness of learning.
II．Strengthen compliance training for business lines to ensure compliance is integrated into daily activity
In November 2022, the Compliance Workshop was held for Relationship Managers and Settlement Team to discuss the case of regulatory penalty on the DFSA authorised firm and the latest EOCN export control guidelines. In addition to the Head of Compliance’s explanation on the case, an interactive session was also designed for all participants to discuss in groups, matching certain violations involved in the penalty with the specific rules in the DFSA Rulebooks that the authorised firm had breached, and elaborating on their personal understanding of each activity. Through the interactive way of learning, the causes of regulatory penalty were analysed in depth and lessons learnt from them, which not only enhanced the participants' understanding and application of the DFSA Rulebooks, but also further improved the quality and effectiveness of the training.
III. Introduce compliance communication programme to keep pace with the latest compliance trends
As part of the Bank’s Compliance communications programme, A featured CompliancePro+talk has been introduced, alongside the previous Compliance Newsletter, to share important compliance news or case studies in a timely manner. Within each talk session, the Bank aims to keep every employee up-to-date on latest regulatory changes, compliance news, trends and awareness to avoid any missing, further guiding employees to develop good habits in daily activities.
As one of the overseas institutions of CCB Group, the Bank will firmly grasp the keynote of Compliance Priority and Prudent Development, always adhere to the principle of combining the leadership of the management with the participation of all employees, continue to improve the long-term mechanism of compliance culture promotion and education, and advance it simultaneously with the daily operation and management of the Bank.
