WASHINGTON — BAFT, the leading global trade association for transaction banking, today released the Respondent’s Playbook for Obtaining and Maintaining a Correspondent Banking Relationship, a guidance document for users of correspondent banking services. The Playbook outlines the decision making process of correspondents establishing new and reviewing existing relationships and the measures that respondents may take to increase the likelihood of a favorable outcome.
The Playbook is part of BAFT’s effort to address the significant decline of correspondent banking relationships worldwide since 2011. “The playbook is a realistic window into actively managing de-risking,” said Tod Burwell, president and CEO of BAFT. “It discusses the three major divers in a correspondent’s decision process when considering a new or reviewing an existing relationship, and empowers a respondent to improve its circumstances by adopting certain best practices.”
To develop the playbook, BAFT convened a core working group of global correspondent banks and one industry body representing the largest global correspondent banks. Business as well as compliance representatives participated in the project to ensure a comprehensive and balanced perspective.
“BAFT designed the playbook to help respondents – including banks, money services businesses, and fintech companies – better understand the legitimate expectations of correspondents,” remarked Samantha Pelosi, SVP, Payments & Innovation of BAFT and the primary author of the playbook. “BAFT vetted the best practices with a group of respondent banks to confirm their reasonableness and feasibility. The playbook also contains answers to questions frequently asked by respondents.”
BAFT plans to offer two-day instructor-led courses in jurisdictions most impacted by the decline in correspondent banking relationships. The training will explore the content of the playbook, placing special emphasis on the best practices through the provision of additional detail, evaluation of recommended procedural, technological, and policy solutions, and the presentation of case studies. Contact BAFT’s Project Management Office to request training for your organization and/or its members.
The Respondents Playbook is free of charge for BAFT members and available for purchase for non-members. Playbook may be found here.
After completing the check-out for this product, please proceed to My Downloads located in the top right corner or your scree to access the PDF.
