New Compliance Association Launched In Gibraltar

by Jason Gorringe, for LawAndTax-News.com, London

28 January 2004

According to reports in the local media, around 35 financial services companies have so far signed up to the newly-created Gibraltar Association of Compliance Officers, which was launched by Chief Minister, Peter Caruana on Tuesday.

The Association, which will agree upon compliance standards and duties, offer training programmes, and provide a forum for compliance officers to share their expertise, has been established to fill the gap left by the UK's Compliance Institute, which in 2003 announced that it would only be offering support to members based in the United Kingdom.

As the finance industry continues to implement tougher "Know Your Customer" requirements in the wake of global initiatives, the role of the compliance officer has become increasingly important, Trevor Nicholls, chairman of the steering committee behind the Association explained to the Gibraltar Chronicle.

"Where in the old days compliance was in effect a "part-time" duty carried out by someone in middle management, most major financial service firms now have at least one - and sometimes more - qualified professionals doing the work full-time," he explained, continuing:

"Not everyone realises that 'due diligence' and KYC are only a small part of the compliance function. Part of the problem, even among compliance officers, is that everyone has a different concept of what compliance is and what their duties are."

It is hoped, however, that this will be resolved by the Association, which is reportedly planning to create a 'job description' for compliance officers, in order to give them a model to work from.

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