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A HELPING HAND FOR
DUE DILIGETNCE
he Wolfsberg Correspondent Banking Due Diligence Questionnaire (CBDDQ), released publicly in
ExpertRolandGuennou explains why it’s important for banks to use the new Wolfsberg Questionnaire as a basis for due diligence
February 2018, is an important upgrade to the historical Wolfsberg Questionnaire in helping banks carry out their due diligence on respondent institutions based on a recognised industry standard. The new questionnaire reflects how correspondent banking (CB) due diligence practices have evolved over recent years.
PURPOSE OF THE CBDDQ
The questionnaire is a tool for providers of CB services to assess
the risk profile of their respondent institutions based on the information offered by the respondent firm. It examinesthecorporateprofileof
the respondent, its inherent risks,
and the existence and scope of its financial crime compliance (FCC) programme – its three-lines-of-defence governance structure. In other words, it is a self-assessment mechanism by the respondent that supports the due diligence enquiries performed by the correspondent.
Each financial institution
is therefore a dual user of the questionnaire in the following ways. • As a correspondent, it helps to assess the FCC programme of its respondent when providing CB services. This is particularly important when providing advisory services in trade finance.
• As a respondent, the CBDDQ allows it to demonstrate the
adequacy of its FCC programme. This is critical in securing ongoing access to clearing and other correspondent services in major world currencies and financial centres.
The questionnaire is a starting point for due diligence, providing a common platform and terminology to initiate the due diligence process required by Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Recommendation
“The new Wolfsberg Questionnaire represents a welcome improvement in the standardisation
of FCC controls.”
Roland Guennou