AML Atlas™ Now Used by Financial Institutions with Combined Assets of More Than $15 Trillion

WASHINGTON - Thursday, April 21st 2011 [ME NewsWire]

(BUSINESS WIRE)-- With the addition of six new institutional subscribers this year, AML Atlas™ now provides country risk ratings to financial institutions with combined assets of over $15 trillion. AML Atlas™, a geographic risk assessment tool produced by Promontory Compliance Solutions, rates countries based on their risk of money laundering and terrorist financing. It is used by community banks, multi-national banks, broker-dealers, and other money services businesses to identify high-risk jurisdictions and fulfill regulatory requirements.

The latest bi-annual release of AML Atlas™ shows an increasing risk of money laundering in countries that have seen recent political unrest, including Bahrain, Egypt and Tunisia. The release incorporates recent multi-national sanctions programs, FinCEN guidance on recent events in the Middle East-North Africa region, the 2011 U.S. State Department International Narcotics Control Strategy Report, and updates to several other anti-money laundering related indicators.

“These are turbulent times. But our ratings have changed only slightly, reflecting their predictive power,” said Michael Dawson, chief operating officer of Promontory Compliance Solutions.

Of more than 250 jurisdictions for which information is compiled and overall risk scores are assigned, AML Atlas™ continues to rate Iran, Burma (also known as Myanmar), and North Korea as among the riskiest countries, which is not surprising considering the broad-based U.S. and multinational sanctions against them.

"Recent events have led to increased international economic sanctions, making it increasingly important for financial institutions to know their risks,” said Eugene A. Ludwig, CEO of Promontory Compliance Solutions. He noted that the U.S. Financial Crimes Enforcement Network in September issued an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that could result in a dramatic expansion in reporting requirements for cross-border transactions.

Promontory Compliance Solutions is an affiliate of Promontory Financial Group, a premier global financial services consulting firm. Promontory was founded by Mr. Ludwig, who is its CEO. Mr. Dawson served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Critical Infrastructure Protection and Compliance Policy at the U.S. Department of the Treasury before joining Promontory as a managing director in 2004.

In addition to AML Atlas™, Promontory Compliance Solutions offers RADAR™, a multi-module tool for conducting compliance risk assessments according to a uniform methodology across an entire financial holding company.

Additional information regarding the AML Atlas™ can be obtained upon request to info@promontorycs.com.

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Contacts

Promontory Financial Group

Debra Cope, 202-384-1011

dcope@promontory.com