The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) has been working alongside the banking sector to adopt effective anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing (AML/CFT) systems and controls to maintain market integrity. Despite the importance of such measures, ensuring that their implementation puts a manageable burden on the public or legitimate businesses when using banking services is necessary. To this end, based on industry and customers’ feedback, HKMA has provided practical guidance on important AML/CFT requirements regarding private banking services.
Private banks have been facing difficulties in the process of customer onboarding and account maintenance due to a variety of reasons, such as the need to establish the source of wealth and source of funds, the difficulty in ongoing monitoring financial transactions, and the challenge of integrating Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Regtech software solutions. Recognizing the challenges, The HKMA has published a set of “Do’s and Don’ts” and good practices to assist private banks in their AML/CFT compliance efforts. These guidelines provide practical guidance on managing customer risks associated with money laundering and terrorist financing. AIs are expected to comply with these requirements and should review and update their policies and procedures, considering this and other applicable guidance.
resource: https://www.hkma.gov.hk/media/chi/doc/key-information/guidelines-and-circular/2023/20230307c1a1.pdf