Financial services firms slow to give compliance training
The report by the financial training provider Wide Learning reveals a low key approach by many firms to new FSA regulations that came into force in November.
Interviews this month with 130 financial services workers, including those in management positions, showed that six out of 10 had not been formally tested by their employer on their awareness of such issues.
Jan Hagen, a director of Wide Learning, said the FSA required 'auditable tracking of competence' in compliance by employees. To be sure of complying with this firms should both train and test staff, he said.
The survey also showed that one in three employees were not aware their organisation was regulated solely by the FSA. Over half did not know when the new regulatory regime came into force (November 1 last year) and one in three were not able to name their money laundering reporting officer (MLRO).
Almost half the respondents said they would tell their line managers if they had concerns about possible money laundering, rather than the FSA's preferred route of contacting the MLRO directly.
Alan Calder, chief executive, Wide Learning, says: "The results mirror feedback we have been getting from the coalface for some time. Even cynics must acknowledge that the survey reflects a general perception that the market is still not taking this risk seriously enough."
