Recent changes in the regulatory environment, the growing globalization of the financial market, and the demand for ever-higher corporate ethical standards have created new challenges for healthcare professionals. compliance, charged with enforcing standards, regulations and guidelines in financial institutions. These challenges include investing in innovation and encouraging greater proactivity of professionals working in this area. These issues were recently discussed during the release of the new version of Good Practice Guide Compliance, prepared by FEBRABAN in partnership with ABBI (Brazilian Association of International Banks).
The guide released by banks, which reaches its third version, shows that, in addition to preventive action, compliance It has increasingly become a consultative activity, supporting strategic objectives and part of the institutions' mission, vision, values, culture and risk management. Professionals in the area, as we all know, must deal with governance, conduct, transparency and issues such as ethics and integrity.
Among the changes of the new version, the guide brings new information about the ideal profile of the compliance, to be more open to innovations, It also updates the recommendations to meet new industry regulations: suggestions include improving information security to allow restricted and controlled access to sensitive information, and ensuring the adoption of the latest anti-money laundering measures; combat terrorist financing.
Another document update emphasizes the need to seek synergy between compliance and the other areas of financial institutions, such as internal control, internal audit, legal, product and service, integrity and ethics and risk committees, as well as business, product and support areas of financial institutions.
“There is growing concern about the delimitation of the roles and responsibilities of health professionals compliance, reflected in the new regulations issued by the Central Bank and the Securities Commission, ”said Alvir Hoffmann, executive vice president of FEBRABAN, present at the launch of the guide. "In addition, the new global regulatory landscape, strictly related to the increased use of technology, brings up discussions that are still the subject of much doubt, such as cyber security and digital customer relationships."
For Patricia Peck, lawyer specialized in digital law, the compliance It needs to be more proactive in contributing to change within the company and "should be seen as an engine that will enable innovation." "O compliance It is still very reactive; is seen as something that can become a straitjacket for innovation, ”says the expert. “It's like something antagonistic: either I innovate or stay in compliance, as if one thing could not contribute to another. ”
According to the lawyer, in a society dependent on increasing circulation and sophisticated data processing, which already uses chatbots and projects smart (with specific, measurable, attainable and realistic goals) in your business strategies, you need to “go hand in hand with technology development”. “You can't invest in a project and find out ahead that it can become unfeasible.”
The opinion is shared by Frederico William Wolf, director of the Department of Compliance, Conduct and Ethics of Bradesco and director of the Sectorial Compliance from FEBRABAN. “If an area takes two days to make a product, we can't take a year to evaluate it,” he says. “Officer of compliance it has to be part of the process from the start, not just overseeing the final process. ”He warns, however,“ You have to be closer to the business, but be careful not to create any conflict of interest in this process. ” .
In a digital society, the professional of compliance It should not be limited to the regulation of a sector or country. needs to be multisectoral and international, to do an efficient risk matrix analysis and also to generate new business opportunities, according to Patricia Peck. “For this, the financial sector needs to invest heavily in training its professionals.”
Self-regulation
The Good Practice Guide Compliance FEBRABAN's objective is to share best practices related to this function, which should be adapted to the size, complexity, structure, risk profile and business model of each institution. The creators of the guide, whose previous versions were released in 2009 and 2011, also hope the document will become a reference in the industry.
Paulo Vita, from the compliance Itaú Unibanco and Deputy Director of the Sectorial Compliance FEBRABAN does not rule out that, in a second moment, the Guide of Good Practices may evolve and become self-regulatory norms on compliance in the banking sector. “We can even start a debate for self-regulation; However, the most important thing is to discuss the continuous evolution of this material, ”he says. “We need to make this guide alive; it can't be something that in a few months could become outdated and irrelevant. ”
The guide can help set a standard, standardize conduct expected from a particular industry, which is important for setting a positive precedent, even for legal issues. “Today, a judge can decide a case based on soft law (term used for norms, statements, codes of conduct that are not legal), guides, manuals, certifications, best practices, ”says Patricia Peck. “A sector guide can help an authority understand that such conduct is the minimum required expected from a company.”
Historic
Since the 1970s, with the creation of the Basel Committee, which aims to strengthen the soundness of financial systems, banks have sought to set standards of conduct and improve the quality of banking supervision. Beginning in the 1990s, with the growth of trade openness in Brazil, the country sought to align with the highly competitive world market and, at the same time, regulators increased their concern to implement new security rules for financial institutions and to regulate the internal market in accordance with international rules.
And more recently, relevant events on the world stage, such as the 2002 Wall Street financial scandals and the 2007-2009 international crisis, have further increased the need for even more effective and rapidly enforcing regulations in all countries.
In Brazil, laws and regulations were also published that reinforce the need for greater governance of companies and financial institutions in relation to the prevention and fight against corruption and other illicit acts, highlighting the Anti-Corruption Law (No. 12.846 / 13). reinforces the anti-money laundering mechanisms provided for in Law No. 9,613 / 98.
In addition, regulations have been published, such as CMN Resolution No. 4,539 / 16, which provides for principles and institutional policy for relationships with customers and users of financial products and services. More recently, resolution No. 4,595 / 17 and Bacen Circular 3,865 / 17, which requires financial institutions, consortium administrators and payment institutions to implement compliance.
Download the Guide by this link
