RCBC boosts controls in wake of laundering case
RIZAL COMMERCIAL Banking Corp. (RCBC) has tightened its internal controls and is implementing more stringent policies amid recent allegations that involved the bank on supposed money laundering that saw millions of dollars go in and out of the country’s banking system.
In its message to its stockholders, the banking arm of the Yuchengco conglomerate said it “has begun instituting reforms aimed to improve our control environment.”
“We have significantly lowered the thresholds for remittances, required more posting reviews during the day, and strengthened the process for escalation and reporting of unusual transactions,” the listed lender said in its annual report distributed during its stockholders meeting.
RCBC likewise set out to create an independent oversight body for exceptions, fraud and unusual transactions.
“Recognizing that on our own, we may not be able to recognize areas for improvement, we have engaged third parties to perform activities ranging from independent assessment to administration of reform measures.”
RCBC has announced in April it has taken immediate steps to improve its operational processes amid the cross-border bank heist that exposed gaping holes in the country’s financial system.
The Board of Directors of the Yuchengco- led bank said it in-
tends to implement best practice policies and procedures gained from international institutions for rigorous strengthening of compliance with anti-money laundering measures.
RCBC said it has reduced its straight through processing threshold amount for both inward and outward remittances. New threshold amounts have also been established for corporate and individual accounts.
Further activities are also being programmed to ensure early and timely tracking and action on any suspicious transaction, with controls in place for higher level action.
“RCBC has taken action on strengthening the account opening process. All in-branch account opening will be signed by two officers, each reporting to different units of the bank. Photos will be taken of walk-in clients who are opening accounts,” the bank earlier said.
The Yuchengco-led lender noted that unusual transactions will be escalated to the regional and/or national higher level officers for independent verification.
All know-your- customer procedures are also being reviewed or further strengthening. —