Banks’ compliance costs remain high, says survey

New AML rules cause KYC costs to rise

A new survey conducted by Bankersalmanac.com of its client base has found that the cost of meeting new anti-money laundering regulations is high, and rising, for financial services firms.

The cost of conducting know-your-customer (KYC) checks on new counterparties and dealing with remediation is a big factor for banks. A quarter of survey respondents said that it takes them a month or more to collect KYC data from other banks. A third of respondents stated that the cost of conducting checks on an individual counterparty is over $100.

Besides banks, brokers and dealers were identified as the hardest institutions to obtain KYC data and documentation from, followed by asset managers and securities companies. The Middle East, Africa and Asia-Pacific were identified as the most problematic territories to obtain essential KYC information.

Kerry Hewson, director at Bankersalmanac.com, says: “Our survey findings highlight that the cost and time spent conducting KYC checks on counterparties continues to be an overhead for banks.”