Abrigo Advisory Services Safeguards Against Missed Deadlines with Suspicious Activity Monitoring Services USA - English

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Apr 02, 2020, 12:46 ET

AUSTIN, Texas, April 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- During this uncertain time of pandemic and economic downturn, many financial institutions are struggling to keep all aspects of their operations strong. Many BSA/AML and compliance professionals are tasked with instituting business continuity plans while receiving no relief from their normal regulatory compliance duties and deadlines.

Abrigo, a leading provider of compliance software, has announced that its Suspicious Activity Monitoring Services (SAMS) is now available on a new subscription basis. SAMS provides valuable resources for a financial institution's BSA team while their responsibilities have shifted to include business continuity, and moving staff to work from home, along with the added stress of watching the pandemic unfold. FinCEN has not provided deadline relief for suspicious activity monitoring and reporting meaning the regulatory expectation is for business to go on as usual and to remain alert to illicit financial activity.

Abrigo has positioned its team of BSA experts to become an extension of an institution's BSA and compliance staff in the event of staff shortages caused by COVID-19. The SAMS offering provides BSA staff augmentation to assist institutions during this difficult time in a variety of ways, including:

Alert and/or case investigation
Suspicious Activity Report (SAR) preparation and review
Enhanced Due Diligence – higher risk customer periodic reviews
Quality control

The new subscription service allows financial institutions to subscribe to short- or long-term services to support meeting regulatory deadlines during this pandemic. Financial Institutions are already working with Abrigo's Advisory Services as their staff augmentation partner. Capital Bank, N.A.,'s Davreen Dixon, JD, CAMS, said, "Working with Abrigo's Advisory Services team gives me time to focus on other projects that strengthen our program. We have confidence in knowing the [suspicious activity] alerts are being worked in a timely and thorough manner."

"BSA officers have an important job to do protecting the integrity of our financial system and that doesn't stop during a pandemic," said Abrigo President Jay Blandford. "Our Advisory Services team can help financial institutions' BSA departments remain compliant and keep their programs strong as their daily tasks increase to keep the business moving."

Central Bank engaged with Abrigo to work daily alerts prior to the pandemic. "An unexpected benefit was that we had…a new and fresh perspective, resulting in two different cases being opened for further investigation," said Amy Dossat, Central Bank Senior Vice President. "Utilizing Abrigo as a resource during [analyst leave] was extremely worthwhile, and I would recommend this service to other banks."

The Abrigo team has successfully worked remotely for institutions for over 10 years by using secure virtual private network (VPN) connectivity and would continue this distanced work environment during the pandemic, following social distance guidelines set forth by the CDC.

Financial institutions must continue to detect and report illicit activity regardless of other distractions that are occurring around the globe. As the pandemic potentially escalates money laundering, human trafficking, and fraud, it is more important than ever for institutions to stay on top of suspicious activity and regulations. Starting a partnership with Abrigo will assist in keeping BSA professionals from losing ground during this difficult time and give peace of mind in the event the pandemic lasts longer than anticipated or if there is a COVID-19 resurgence in the future. With a partnership with Abrigo's Advisory Services, institutions can position themselves to come out the other side of this pandemic with a stronger BSA program.

To learn more about Abrigo's SAMS subscription and how to keep your financial institution in compliance, visit abrigo.com. For more information and resources regarding navigating the coronavirus, visit Abrigo's Coronavirus News and Resources page.

About Abrigo

Abrigo is a leading technology provider of compliance, credit risk, lending, and asset/liability management solutions that community financial institutions use to manage risk and drive growth. Our software automates key processes – from anti-money laundering to asset/liability management to fraud detection to lending solutions – empowering our customers by addressing their Enterprise Risk Management needs. Visit abrigo.com to learn more. Follow Abrigo on social media using @weareabrigo.

SOURCE Abrigo