European Parliament Roundtable on Financial inclusion and de-risking

AGENDA

12:30-12:35 Welcome and introduction

Dorien Rookmaker, Member of the European Parliament, ECR, NL

Moderator: Florence Ranson, Founder, REDComms

12:35-13:50 Panel discussion

• Raluca Pruna, Head of Unit, Financial Crime, DG FISMA, European Commission
• Jo Swyngedouw, Head of Financial Stability, AML supervision and Banking Prudential Policy, National Bank of Belgium 
• Geert Van Reisen, Global Head of Diamond & Jewellery Clients, ABN AMRO 
• Hanna Surmatz, Head of Policy, Philea, Global NPO Coalition on FATF
• Trisevgeni Stavropoulos, Head of Compliance, Antwerp World Diamond Center 
• Ekaterina Hartmann, Director of Legal and Regulatory Affairs, European Gaming and Betting Association 
• Aamir Hanif, Regional Vice President, AML Compliance: EU / CIS / Africa, Western Union 
• Dr. Hartwig Gerhartinger, Senior Vice-President, Global Head of Regulatory and Government Affairs, Paysafe Group

13:50-14:00 Concluding remarks

Dorien Rookmaker, Member of the European Parliament, ECR, NL

BACKGROUND

De-risking refers to decisions taken by financial institutions not to provide services to customers in certain risk categories. This can leave customers without access to the financial system and therefore, could pose a serious threat to financial inclusion, competition and stability in the single market. Derisking can be a legitimate risk management tool in some cases, but it can also be a sign of ineffective ML/TF risk management, with severe consequences.

The Anti-Money Laundering Regulation proposal, which is currently under discussion, introduces for the first time the requirement for the obliged entities (financial institutions) to keep record of the actions undertaken and the information obtained during the customer due diligence process including the grounds for refusing to establish a business relationship with customers. These records should be made available to supervisory authorities. 

Furthermore, the European Banking Authority (EBA), issued an opinion on de-risking in January 2022 and proposed revised guidelines on access to financial services which will build on the work on derisking. According to the EBA’s opinion certain categories of individuals and entities are impacted by bank derisking practices, for example asylum seekers from high ML/TF risk jurisdictions, not-for-profit organisations (NPOs), politically exposed persons (PEPs), customers that are obliged entities under the AML Directive including Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs), PI/EMIs, bureaux de change, respondent banks, gaming operators and wealth managers and finally customers that provide products or services that involve significant cash transactions such as diamond dealers or money remitters.

AIM OF THE EVENT

The aim of the event is to bring together stakeholders from the EU Institutions, the private sector, NPOs and financial institutions to discuss financial inclusion and de-risking. The organisation of such an event is timely as the European Banking Authority, has recently proposed revised guidelines on access to financial services which will build on the work on de-risking and the EU Institutions are negotiating the AML package and AMLA, the new EU AML Authority that will be addressing those issues in the future. Therefore, the event objectives are twofold:

• To allow for Members of the European Parliament, political advisors and other key stakeholders from the EU institutions to gain a better understanding of the scale and impact of de-risking at EU level, exchange views with stakeholders and discuss the latest developments in relation to EBA Guidelines and the AML package;
• To encourage discussion on how authorities, co-legislators, credit and financial institutions and impacted stakeholders could collaborate and take steps together to put in place the Guidelines, policies, procedures and controls to mitigate and effectively manage ML/TF risks, address unwarranted de-risking and mitigate its negative impact.

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