MIAMI--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Banks all over the United States, Latin America and Caribbean are facing a tough dilemma: How to train their employees in anti-money laundering detection and prevention at a time when budgets are tighter than ever. Increasing the challenge is the growing sophistication of money launderers, making it harder than ever to detect illicit activity. According to the IMF, it is estimated that between 2 to 5 percent of the world's GDP ($962 billion to $2.4 trillion) represents laundered funds. However, any failure to detect money laundering activities in the financial institution can result in huge fines for US banks and significant reputational damage.
With knowledge accumulated over 30 years in the detection and prevention of money laundering through the financial system, and the support of its more than 70 member banks from 19 countries, Florida International Bankers Association (FIBA) has partnered with Florida International University (FIU) to launch a cost-effective online version of FIBA-FIU in Anti-Money Laundering Certified Associate (AML/CA) certification program, which has helped many AML compliance officers hone their skills and improve their effectiveness at their institutions.
“The Online Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Certification program comes at the perfect time as compliance budgets continue to shrink and work loads grow. Online learning allows much more flexibility for busy compliance officers who want to earn their AML Certification. And for financial institutions, it is a cost-effective way to train their employees in detecting money laundering,” said Patricia Roth, Executive Director at FIBA.
"The strength of the FIBA-FIU AML Certification is the focus on practical applications and real-life scenarios," Roth said. "People recognize in the course the same things that they see in their financial institutions, and they are able to see how everything fits together."
Save the date for the 10th Annual FIBA Anti-Money Laundering Compliance Conference held in Miami on February 18-19, 2010.