Specialised Solutions for Consumer Lenders’ Compliance Management

We offer a comprehensive set of risk and compliance solutions tailored to a variety of consumer lenders' compliance obligations. We can help you comply with retail lending regulations in a commercially oriented and goal-focused manner, providing a tailored approach to consumer lenders' compliance management with regard to your specific circumstances, including:

• Your commercial objectives
• Your lending solutions and products
• Your business goals
• Your business size
• Your technology and human resources
• Your risk appetite
• Your governance structure
• Your client demographics
• Your countries of operation, their applicable laws, and relevant consumer lenders' licensing requirements and regulations, including key aspects such as outsourced providers' monitoring, compliance training, risk management, audit, and assurance.
• Any related compliance obligations, including, but not limited to, consumer lenders' obligations under privacy laws, anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing (AML/CFT) laws, fair trading laws, and more.
• Consumer lenders' compliance assurance obligations, including internal control design and testing, implementation of compliance calendars, management plans, compliance assurance programs and other second and third-line compliance requirements.
• Specific operational compliance requirements for consumer lenders, including but not limited to:
  • Client due diligence and onboarding
  • Surveillance and monitoring
  • Recordkeeping
  • Conflict of interest management
  • Regulatory technology (RegTech) integration
  • Internal reporting
  • External reporting
  • Transaction execution
  • Regulatory Filings

 

 

What Jurisdictions Do Our Compliance Solutions Cover?

Our compliance solutions extend across major financial markets and cover consumer lenders' regulation and consumer lenders' licensing requirements in the following jurisdictions:

• Australia: Where consumer credit firms are regulated by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) under the National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009, requiring an Australian Credit Licence (ACL).
• United States: Where consumer credit firms are regulated at the state level, requiring state-specific lending licenses. Federal regulations include the Truth in Lending Act (TILA) and oversight by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).
• United Kingdom: Where consumer credit firms are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) under the Consumer Credit Act 1974 and the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000.
• Singapore: Where consumer credit firms are regulated by the Ministry of Law under the Moneylenders Act.
• New Zealand: Where consumer credit firms are required to register as Financial Service Providers (FSP) under the Financial Service Providers (Registration and Dispute Resolution) Act 2008.
• other jurisdictions

 

 

Consumer Lenders’ Compliance Advisory

Our focus areas include:

• Detailed Compliance Advice: Covering consumer lenders' compliance management issues across the first, second, and third lines, as well as matters related to effective compliance with financial markets regulations and consumer lenders' licensing requirements.
• Banking Relationships Advice: On risk and compliance issues related to managing and expanding relationships with banks, liquidity providers, and other financial institutions to help you meet their risk appetite requirements, anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing requirements, fraud prevention and recall volume expectations, and other compliance-related and operational standards.
• Operational AML Advice: Advising support, onboarding, KYC, operating and other teams on the day-to-day onboarding and support queue management, effective AML/CFT resource allocations, and operational improvements, helping you maintain the overall customer experience and efficiency while remaining compliant with the consumer lenders' AML/CFT requirements.
• Operational Compliance Advice: Advising compliance, management, technology, and support teams on the day-to-day compliance with retail lending regulations, focusing on internal processes and critical internal controls for effective consumer lenders' compliance management.
• Risk Management Advice: Covering risk rating and methodologies, risk assessments, management, and mitigation for various risk types faced by consumer lenders, including regulatory, ML/TF, fraud, data protection, and operational risks. We help you safeguard against potential compliance breaches and comply with risk management obligations under consumer lenders' licensing requirements and other applicable laws and regulations.
• Compliance Framework Advice: To help you create or enhance your compliance management framework, identify gaps and areas of improvement, meet the consumer lenders' compliance obligations effectively, improve internal governance and reporting, and optimise them for market expansion and growth.
• Consumer Lenders' Licensing Advice: We can guide you through the licensing process, help you apply regulations to your specific circumstances and business environment, and meet consumer lenders' licensing requirements to become licensed or maintain it.
• Peer Benchmarking and Best Practices: We can help you benchmark your compliance practices against peers and applicable regulatory compliance guidance, identify areas for improvement and adopt best practices for enhanced compliance.
• Government Agencies Liaison Advice: We provide strategic guidance to senior management and compliance teams on maintaining and managing relationships with external bodies, including regulators, AML/CTF supervisors and law enforcement agencies, focusing on long-term compliance strategies and proactive engagement.
• Specific consumer lenders' Compliance Issues: We can help you resolve specific risk or compliance issues related to retail lending regulations and compliance obligations, including but not limited to external audits and reviews, reporting, oversight, difficult clients or transactions, expansion challenges, compliance management issues, process optimisation, regulatory challenges you may encounter and more.
• Further information: You can visit our Regulatory Compliance Consulting Solutions page for a comprehensive list of advisory services we offer to consumer credit providers and other licensed financial institutions, financial services providers, and regulated businesses.

 

 

Reporting and Regulatory Liaison Solutions for Consumer Lenders’ Compliance

• Regulator Liaison Management: Providing operational guidance to senior management and compliance teams on managing relationships with regulators, AML/CFT supervisors, police bodies, privacy commissioners, and other government entities. This includes handling requests for information, responding to ad-hoc regulatory inquiries, managing findings from audits and investigations, managing compliance with reporting obligations for consumer lenders and more.
• Board and Committee Reporting: Facilitating structured reporting workflows for various committees and board delegates, including risk, compliance, and audit committees, focusing on your current compliance status, deviations from your risk appetite, changes in risk ratings and any operational compliance updates to ensure that governance structures are well-informed and aligned with compliance management practices.
• Compliance Performance Metrics: Developing and presenting comprehensive compliance performance metrics to the board or relevant committees, offering insights into your compliance effectiveness and identifying points for improvement in key compliance areas, including compliance training, fraud prevention, compliance monitoring, risk rating and assessment, controls effectiveness, adherence to your compliance calendar, regulatory technology (RegTech) performance, and more.
• Internal Audit Reporting: We can help you increase the effectiveness of the internal audit to make its findings reflect your actual performance against the consumer lenders' compliance obligations. This includes developing tailored methodologies for the auditors, preparing the necessary audit evidence and reviewing audit results. The goal is to ensure that audit procedures and outcomes directly contribute to maintaining and enhancing your compliance status and internal controls' effectiveness.
• AML/CFT Reporting Compliance:  We help with the implementation of effective AML/CFT reporting processes, aligning with specific anti-money laundering regulations for internal oversight and prompt escalation of critical AML issues within your business to help the management receive a clear overview of your AML/CFT compliance status.
• Transactional Reporting: Implementing effective transactional reporting procedures to help with consumer lenders' compliance management of reporting obligations under various laws and regulations, including submitting SAR, SMR, STR, PTR, TTR, specific reportable matters under the consumer lenders' licensing requirements and other externally reportable transactions and activities.
• Internal Quality Assurance Reporting: While second-line control testing is crucial for complying with retail lending regulations, including consumer lenders' licensing requirements, first-line quality assurance results are equally important for effective risk and compliance management. We help organise effective reporting lines, tailor reporting content to your specific circumstances, products, and team size, and establish a structured approach to responding to reporting outcomes.

 

 

Comprehensive Compliance Management Solution for Consumer Lenders

Our compliance management services include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Financial Lenders' Compliance Management Leadership: We act as your Compliance Leads and Compliance Managers, fully managing compliance obligations under the applicable consumer lenders' licensing requirements, laws, regulations, industry codes, and regulatory guidance.
• Second-Line Compliance Management: We offer a full range of second-line compliance assurance solutions, including internal controls testing for operational, compliance, marketing, legal and other risks, as well as managing issue closure control testing and more.
• Supporting the Board in Strategic Compliance Management: Advising on the necessary compliance resourcing, budget, tools, role structuring, and compliance functions' structure to support your specific business objectives within your risk appetite and risk management framework.
• Compliance Project Management: Effectively coordinating between senior management, committees, legal advisers, risk and compliance functions, outsourced providers, and different departments, including product development, technology, customer support, operations, assurance, marketing, and others, to help you successfully implement compliance projects across the business.
• Customised Governance Solutions: Tailoring governance frameworks and mechanisms to fit your specific governance structure and effectively comply with retail lending regulations and other applicable obligations. Whether your business is locally oriented, a start-up, undergoing expansion, part of a multinational group, has a listed parent company or is undergoing restructuring, we tailor the oversight of consumer lenders' compliance management to your business case.
• Stakeholder Management and Reporting: Reporting to the board, committees, shareholders, regulators and other stakeholders. Providing management and the board with comprehensive compliance reports that cover your compliance with consumer lenders' compliance obligations, regulatory development summary, compliance-related data and statistics, internal controls testing outcomes and more. Also covering the status of your specific compliance-related projects and compliance goals, relevant compliance KPIs, and more.
• Compliance Calendar Implementation: We design and implement compliance management programs and calendars, covering such areas of consumer lenders' compliance obligations as policy and key document reviews, control testing, risk assessment and reviews, vendor reviewers, user system access reviews, assurance activities and more.
• Managing Customer Onboarding and Due Diligence: Implementing commercially oriented and compliant processes for KYC information collecting, Know Your Business (KYB), ML/TF risk assessment, Pep and Sanctions screening, CDD and EDD, especially for higher ML/TF risk clients, to help you comply with AML/CFT compliance obligations for consumer lenders.
• AML Transaction Monitoring and Reporting: Developing and implementing a set of business-specific ML/TF alerts and red flags to detect and report suspicious transactions to comply with the consumer lenders' AML requirements without making AML/CFT compliance a hindrance to business.
• Information Requests and AML/KYC Data Sharing: Handling information requests from law enforcement agencies, AML/CTF supervisors, and other relevant AML/CTF designated entities, such as your banking partners and other essential service providers (liquidity providers, finance providers, etc.), ensuring that you are fully supported in all AML/CTF compliance-related communications.
• Business Expansion Support: Providing support for your business expansion objectives, recognising and assessing new risks, developing and implementing controls and mitigations for them, as well as addressing new compliance obligations and putting in place practical tools and systems to manage them.
• Consumer Lenders' Operational Compliance: Including but not limited to:
  • On-the-Ground Compliance: Conducting compliance management meetings, organising routine and ad hoc compliance reporting, overseeing mitigations and controls testing, leading adjustments and enhancements to your internal controls and protocols when required.
  • Compliance Process and Operations Building: Developing effective and compliant procedures and processes to implement your policies, support your operations across different teams and mitigate operational, regulatory and other risks.
  • Outsourced Provider Performance Monitoring: Setting up initial due diligence and ongoing review frameworks for your outsourced providers to help you meet the required service standards for outsourcing under various consumer lenders' compliance obligations, including consumer lenders' licensing requirements.
  • Incident Management and Reporting: We can help you set up effective processes for incident reporting, escalations, and management at different levels of your business.

 

Consumer Lenders’ Compliance Assurance 

Our services include:

• Compliance Assurance Programs:  We can design and implement your compliance assurance program to maintain enhanced oversight of your compliance with both retail lending regulations and your internal compliance and risk appetite thresholds.
• Organisation-Wide Risk Assessments: Helping you focus on the specific risks faced by your business, considering its size, products, client types, jurisdictions of operation, delivery channels, financial institutions you interact with, available technology, and other tools. This includes assessing available mitigations, controls, their effectiveness, residual risk ratings, and the plan to move forward.
• Internal Controls Design: We can develop internal controls for various risk types, including regulatory, fraud, operational, strategic, financial, and other risks. Please visit our Internal Controls Design page for more information. 
• Assurance Testing: We conduct assurance testing to verify that the business complies with its policies, procedures, and consumer lenders' compliance obligations, including consumer lenders' licensing requirements. We also assess whether your internal controls effectively mitigate existing risks, including those required to be monitored under the applicable retail lending regulations. This process includes a compliance controls testing report and, if necessary, a gap analysis.
• Compliance Quality Assurance: We go beyond merely meeting regulatory requirements. We focus on evaluating and enhancing your risk and compliance management processes to ensure they align with your current and future goals, business model, your risk analysis, your current client inflow, and more. We also suggest which compliance processes you can use to meet your goals. Here is an example of this service in the AML/CFT area.
• Assurance Reporting: Compiling testing findings and issuing comprehensive compliance assurance reports, which include:

• Identification of any deficiencies or control weaknesses, with clear explanations and potential root cause analysis.
• Recommendations for corrective actions to address identified issues and enhance compliance effectiveness.
• Evaluation of the overall effectiveness of your internal controls and regulatory compliance monitoring program against your desired assurance level.

• Regulatory Inspection Readiness: We can help your business prepare for external audits and regulatory inspections, reducing the risk of adverse findings related to consumer lenders' compliance obligations. This includes conducting mock inspections to identify gaps, reviewing documentation and record-keeping practices to ensure all relevant materials are well-organised and readily accessible, and training staff on their roles in the inspection process. We assist in identifying any missing information and weak points, provide interview preparation, and more to ensure readiness for auditor or regulator review.
• Further information: You can visit our Compliance Assurance Solutions page for more information on our third-line compliance assurance review solutions.

 

Compliance Remediation Solutions

Our focus areas include:

• Compliance Remediation Advice: Assisting consumer lenders in effectively addressing and rectifying compliance issues, from minor breaches to significant regulatory challenges, including warnings and action plans.
• Remediation Plan Development: Following the independent review, we assist in analysing the findings to identify necessary remedial actions. We then support consumer lenders in devising a detailed plan outlining these actions for submission to your regulator or an AML/CFT supervisor, ensuring the plan is both actionable and compliant with regulatory expectations.
• Remediation Plan Commitment: We help consumer lenders complete their remediation plans and prevent non-compliance recurrence.
• Executive Attestation Support: Our services include assisting senior executives in preparing the required attestations to your regulator. This involves confirming that all necessary remedial actions have been undertaken and adequate compliance measures are in place, supported by comprehensive documentation and evidence. This option covers assistance with the removal of any licensing restrictions.
• Further Information: For more information, you can visit our Compliance Remediation Solutions page.

 

 

Internal Controls Testing and Consumer Lenders’ Compliance Management

When it comes to reality versus a nice policy or procedure with nothing else to show for it, it’s often a case where a policy says A, but reality says B. One might ask, why didn’t we test our internal controls before? Or, why didn’t we do it properly? There’s nothing worse than faking compliance instead of actually doing it.

Our second line of compliance defence solutions covers the development, testing, and enhancement of a wide range of controls to ensure compliance with various laws and regulations governing consumer lenders' compliance obligations.

We go beyond merely quoting consumer lending regulations or a selection of licensing requirements, then adding Excel sheets painted in different colours as a supposed source of truth with nothing to show for it.

• We test them.
• We link them to your risk appetite and core risk management documentation.
• We provide relevant suggestions and analysis tailored to your business.

Some of our focus areas for testing the consumer lenders' compliance requirements include:

 

Regulatory Compliance Controls

• Compliance Management Program: Consumer credit firms should have robust compliance management systems, including conflict of interest management and staff training.
• Liquidity Management: Consumer credit businesses should manage funds effectively to ensure the availability of loans and the timely servicing of borrowings.
• Capital Adequacy: Credit lending institutions should maintain a minimum level of capital to cover operational and credit risks.
• Financial Auditing: Consumer lending firms should engage qualified auditors who should conduct regular financial audits to verify the accuracy of financial statements and ensure compliance with regulatory standards.
• Cross-Border Application of Regulations: Consumer lenders should comply with international regulations when operating or providing loans across borders.
• Debt Collection Practices: Consumer lending companies should adhere to regulations governing debt collection practices, including limitations on communication frequency, harassment, and unfair practices.
• Consumer Rights and Protection: Consumer credit businesses should ensure that the rights of consumers are protected, including transparent communication of loan terms, interest rates, fees, and the right to fair treatment.
• Complaint Handling Procedures: Consumer credit firms should implement effective procedures for handling consumer complaints, ensuring that all complaints are resolved in a timely manner.
• Borrower Education Programs: Consumer lending firms should provide educational programs to borrowers about their rights, financial literacy, and responsible borrowing practices.
• Creditworthiness Evaluation: Consumer credit businesses should develop robust procedures for assessing the creditworthiness of borrowers, including the use of credit scores, income verification, and debt-to-income ratios.
• Loan Approval Criteria: Consumer lenders should establish clear criteria for loan approval based on the assessment of the borrower’s credit risk, ensuring that loans are granted responsibly.
• Ongoing Credit Monitoring: Credit lending institutions should implement systems for ongoing monitoring of borrowers’ credit risk throughout the loan term, allowing for early identification of potential defaults.

 

Operational Oversight Controls

• Outsourcing Oversight: Consumer credit businesses should maintain oversight of outsourced functions such as loan servicing, debt collection, and IT services, including Third-Party Risk Management, to ensure that third-party providers meet compliance and performance standards.
• Risk Management: Consumer credit firms should implement comprehensive risk management frameworks to identify, assess, and mitigate operational and financial risks.
• Governance Arrangements: Credit lending institutions should ensure effective governance structures for decision-making, risk oversight, and compliance monitoring.
• Senior Management Accountability: Consumer lending companies should assign specific responsibilities to senior management to ensure accountability for compliance.
• Operational Resilience: Consumer lending firms should establish continuity plans for critical operations to maintain resilience in the face of disruptions.
• Technology Risk Management: Consumer lenders should manage IT and cybersecurity risks, including implementing Data Security Policies to protect sensitive borrower data.
• Information Security Management: Consumer credit businesses should ensure the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of borrower data, integrating with data protection and privacy requirements.
• Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery (BCDR): Credit lending institutions should establish plans to maintain critical operations and minimize downtime during disruptions.
• Digital Lending and Automation: Consumer lending companies should implement controls for digital platforms and automated decision-making processes to ensure compliance and efficiency.
• Incident Reporting: Consumer credit firms should establish robust processes for identifying, reporting, and resolving compliance incidents.
• Client Verification Processes: Consumer lenders should ensure rigorous client verification processes to meet compliance standards and prevent fraud.

 

Market Integrity and Transparency Controls

• Market Conduct Standards: Consumer credit firms should ensure that market conduct is fair, transparent, and free from abuse, including predatory lending.
• Fair Dealing Principles: Consumer credit businesses should ensure fair treatment of borrowers, with transparent interest rates, fees, and loan conditions, adhering to Responsible Lending Practices.
• Conduct and Disclosure Standards: Credit lending institutions should maintain high standards for disclosures to borrowers regarding loan products, associated risks, and their rights.
• Service Provision Standards: Consumer lenders should provide lending services responsibly, ensuring borrower understanding and ability to repay.
• Product Governance: Consumer lending firms should ensure that products meet borrower needs and comply with regulatory requirements.
• Client Asset Protection: Consumer lending companies should safeguard borrower payments and ensure compliance with data protection laws.
• Dispute Resolution: Consumer credit businesses should establish mechanisms for resolving borrower disputes.
• Interest Rate Transparency: Consumer lenders should ensure that interest rates, fees, and charges are transparently communicated to borrowers, preventing hidden costs or misleading practices.

 

Resource Management Controls

• Resource Adequacy: Consumer credit firms should maintain sufficient financial, technological, and human resources for effective lending operations, borrower support, and compliance with regulatory obligations.
• Professional Competence: Consumer credit businesses should ensure that staff involved in credit assessment, regulatory compliance, and customer service are competent and adhere to professional standards.
• Adviser and Representative Competence: Credit lending institutions should ensure that advisors and representatives providing lending services receive adequate training and demonstrate competence.
• Training and Development: Consumer lending companies should provide ongoing training for staff on relevant regulations, product knowledge, and best practices.
• Fraud Detection Systems: Consumer credit firms should implement systems to detect and prevent fraudulent activities, ensuring robust protection for both the institution and its clients.
• Financial Compliance Technology: Consumer lending firms should utilize Financial Compliance Technology to enhance compliance processes and ensure adherence to regulatory standards.

 

Reporting Controls

• Comprehensive Transaction Reporting: Consumer credit firms should ensure detailed reporting of loan origination, funding, repayments, and defaults for management, compliance, and auditing purposes.
• Regulatory Reporting: Consumer lending companies should submit regular reports to regulatory authorities on lending activities, AML/CTF compliance, and adherence to consumer protection standards.
• Record-Keeping: Consumer credit businesses should maintain accurate records of all lending transactions, borrower information, and communications for audit and regulatory review purposes under a range of laws applicable to consumer credit firms, including AML/CFT, tax, financial marketing laws, and consumer lenders’ licensing requirements.

 

Product and Service Management Controls

• Product Suitability: Consumer lending firms should ensure that products offered are appropriate for the clients, considering their knowledge, experience, and financial situation. Product suitability controls are particularly important when a consumer credit firm provides business loans only, as some jurisdictions have specific lending regulations regarding procedures and the amount of interest charged when lending funds for non-business use.
• Product Lifecycle Oversight: Consumer lenders should have procedures for product lifecycle management, from design to distribution, ensuring client suitability and market integrity.
• Execution Quality: Credit lending institutions should ensure efficient processing of loan applications and disbursements.
• Data Protection and Privacy: Consumer credit firms should adhere to robust data protection standards, aligning with national data protection laws for financial institutions.
• Agile Product Development: Consumer lending companies should implement controls that enable rapid development, testing, and deployment of new loan products, ensuring compliance with regulatory boundaries while fostering innovation and maintaining consumer protection.
• Sustainability Reporting: Consumer lenders should establish controls for reporting on ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) initiatives and impacts, as it is often expected, though not always a strict legal obligation.
• Impact Reporting: Consumer credit businesses should establish mechanisms to assess and disclose the social and economic impact of lending activities, aligning with broader social responsibility goals.

 

Transactional Controls

• Know Your Customer (KYC): Consumer lenders should verify borrower identities and understand their financial situation to mitigate fraud and anti-money laundering risks.
• Customer Onboarding: Consumer credit businesses should ensure a streamlined and efficient process for onboarding new borrowers, potentially including digital verification methods.
• Loan Modification and Restructuring: Consumer lending firms should develop controls for loan modifications and restructuring practices to ensure they are handled transparently, fairly, and in compliance with regulatory guidelines, particularly in response to borrowers facing financial hardship.

 

 

Licensing Solutions for Consumer Lenders

• Financial Licensing Application Support: We provide comprehensive support for a wide range of consumer lenders' licensing applications, including:

• Consumer Lending Regulations in Australia: Assisting with the application for an Australian Credit Licence (ACL), ensuring compliance with ASIC regulations.
• Consumer Lending Regulations in the United States: Providing consultancy for obtaining state-specific lending licences and ensuring compliance with federal regulations, including the Truth in Lending Act (TILA).
• Consumer Lending Regulations in the United Kingdom: Supporting consumer lenders in obtaining FCA authorisation under the Consumer Credit Act 1974 and the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000.
• Consumer Lending Regulations in Singapore: Assisting with the application process for a licence under the Moneylenders Act, ensuring compliance with the Ministry of Law's regulations.
• Consumer Lending Regulations in New Zealand: Guiding consumer lending firms through the registration process as Financial Service Providers (FSP) and ensuring compliance with the Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act 2003 (CCCFA).
• Consumer Lending Regulations in other jurisdictions.

• International Governance Alignment: We provide strategic advice on aligning governance models for consumer lenders operating across multiple jurisdictions to meet diverse regulatory expectations while maintaining operational efficiency and regulatory compliance.

Policies and Procedures for Consumer Lenders' Compliance Management

• Compliance Policies and Core Documents: We develop, enhance, and implement a set of core policies, manuals, frameworks, and procedures for effective consumer lenders' compliance management.
• Effective Procedures for Consumer Lenders' Compliance Management: We draft and enhance a detailed set of procedures and protocols to meet the distinct needs of your business, focusing on efficient compliance, your business goals, and applicable consumer lenders' compliance requirements.
• Examples: These policies and procedures include, but are not limited to:

 

 

Operational Compliance

• Compliance Management Frameworks
• Compliance Monitoring Programs
• Compliance Calendars and Checklists
• Complaints Handling and Dispute Resolution Policies
• Compliance Training Manuals and Programs, as part of our regulatory compliance training solutions
• Obligation Registers
• Margin Account Negative Balance Write-Off Procedures
• Incident Reporting Policies and Procedures
• Outsourcing Policies and Vendor Risk Management policies as part of our outsourced provider's compliance management solutions
• New Client Account Opening Policies and Procedures, as part of our customer onboarding solutions

 

Governance and Oversight

• Board Charters, Risk, Audit and Compliance Committee Charters, as part of our corporate governance solutions
• Codes of Conduct
• Delegations Registers
• HR Manuals and Policies
• ESG Compliance Policies
• Conflict of Interest Policies

 

Risk Management

• Risk Management Frameworks as part of our risk management solutions
• Risk Assessment Guidelines and Methodologies
• Internal Control Testing Methodologies
• Risk Registers and specialised risk registers like Health and Safety Risk Registers
• Cybersecurity Risk Management Policies
• Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery (BCDR) Policies
• Loan Modification and Restructuring Policies

 

Audit and Assurance

• Compliance Assurance Programs as part of our compliance assurance solutions
• Internal Audit Policies and Programs as part of our internal control testing solutions
• Regulatory Reporting Procedures

 

Client and Market Conduct

• Marketing and Advertising Policies
• Product Pricing and Disclosure Policies
• Fair Lending Policies

 

AML/CFT and Financial Crime Compliance

• AML/CFT Compliance Programs
• AML/CFT Risk Assessment
• Whistleblowing Policies (if applicable)
• Sanctions Compliance policies and procedures
• Fraud Prevention Protocols and Controls as part of our fraud prevention solutions
• ABC Policies

 

Privacy and Data Management

• Client Data Protection Policies
• Record-keeping Policies and Procedures and/or Data Governance Policies as part of our record-keeping compliance solution
• External Privacy Policies
• Internal Data Protection Compliance Programs

 

Compliance Training and Capacity Building

We focus on practical compliance and the application of training to real-world compliance scenarios and challenges that consumer lenders generally face. Our services include:

• Customised Compliance Training Solutions:  Specialised compliance training sessions for various teams, including management, compliance, operations, sales, and customer relations, focusing on retail lending regulations, applying consumer lenders' compliance management practices to your circumstances, risk awareness, and more.
• Up-to-date Regulatory Compliance Updates:  Keeping compliance officers, managers, CROs, COOs, and other Risk and Compliance team members informed of changes in consumer lenders' licensing requirements and regulations, AML/CFT updates, and changes in regulatory guidance.
• Data Analysis for Effective Compliance Monitoring: Covering training on compliance-related, data-based analysis and its results, including risk rating, internal control adjustments, resource and focus reallocation, and more.
• Workshops on Emerging AML Trends and Red Flags: Updating on new AML trends, red flags, typologies, and AML/CFT requirements for consumer credit providers. For more information, please visit our AML/CFT Training Solutions page.
• Practical Workshops: Interactive workshops focused on effective and goal-oriented consumer lenders' compliance, capacity planning, and resource allocation, covering:

• Retail lending regulations
• Internal and external compliance reporting
• Effective governance over risk and compliance functions
• Organisation-wide risk assessment, risk rating methodologies and the development, management, and testing of corresponding internal controls, including controls testing methodologies and practical techniques.
• Consumer lenders' compliance reality, including outsourced provider monitoring, UAV management, incident management, product suitability assessments, advertising and marketing compliance, improvements in the client onboarding journey, transaction monitoring processes, and more.

• Further information: You can visit our Compliance Training Solutions page for more information on the compliance training services we offer to licensed financial institutions and financial service providers.

 

Consumer Finance Providers and AML/CTF Obligations

We offer a complete set of solutions covering consumer lenders' anti-money laundering (AML), financial crime and counter-terrorism financing (CTF) compliance. Our solutions include:

• Customer due diligence, screening, and customer onboarding solutions
• Development of transaction monitoring frameworks tailored to consumer lenders' specific ML/TF red flags and your business specifications
• AML advisory covering consumer lenders' compliance issues and challenges
• Drafting, testing, and updating AML policies and procedures
• AML training and capacity building
• Managed AML compliance solutions for consumer credit providers
• Internal and statutory AML audit solutions for consumer lenders
• Financial crime prevention framework development focusing on common fraud risks faced by consumer lenders
• For more information, please visit our specialised AML Compliance Solutions page for Consumer Lenders

 

Consumer Lenders’ Compliance Technology Integration

Our services cover compliance aspects concerning the integration of technology for risk and compliance e-management, transactional reporting (where applicable), usage of AI, technology outsourcing, and compliance aspects of third-party risk management for consumer lenders, including:

• Needs Assessment
• Compliance Technology Selection: Based on your budget, products, available operational and technical resources, and the applicable consumer lenders' compliance obligations
• Implementation assistance across the organisation
• Streamlining operational workflows: For routine compliance tasks like data collection, reporting, and risk assessments
• AML/CFT Compliance Technology: Covering customer digital onboarding, E-KYC, PEP and sanctions screening, transaction monitoring, etc.
• Integration of consumer lenders' compliance obligations into an effective CRM system
• Record-Keeping Obligations: Helping you choose and integrate the necessary tools to comply with the record-keeping requirements under various laws and retail lending regulations

 

Data Management and Information Privacy Solutions

• Data Governance and Compliance:  Assisting consumer credit providers in establishing robust data governance procedures, programs, and protocols that align data collection, storage, and usage practices with relevant data privacy regulations, such as GDPR, CCPA, and other applicable laws. These measures safeguard sensitive client and business information from unauthorised access, breaches, and misuse.
• Privacy Policy Compliance Monitoring: Helping you implement privacy policies that reflect the latest data protection legislation, supported by continuous compliance monitoring tools to maintain the highest data privacy standards.
• Record Maintenance Protocols:  We assist in developing and implementing effective procedures for maintaining necessary records, covering consumer lenders' compliance with applicable regulatory reporting standards and reporting requirements.
• Record Availability and Inspection Readiness:  retail lending regulations often require records to be readily available for inspection by regulators, AML/CFT supervisors, tax agencies, and other relevant authorities. This extends to information kept by your outsourced service providers. We help you organise your record-keeping processes to meet these needs.

 

ISO Standards and Consumer Lenders’ Compliance

• Cross-Reference Mapping: Integrating ISO standards such as ISO 27001, ISO 9001, and ISO 22301 into an existing compliance framework and linking specific sections of ISO standards to corresponding procedures in your internal policies and procedures.
• Pre-Audit Preparation: Coordinating ISO controls testing across different parts of the business.
• Leading evidence collection across the different departments to cover relevant compliance areas such as planning, governance, organisational controls, operational controls, technological controls, and physical controls through structured workflows.
• Digital Compliance Repository: Helping you utilise a centralised digital repository for storing all compliance-related documents and evidence, making it easily accessible for audit purposes and compliance verification.
• ISO Audit Liaison:  Acting as a liaison between your team and the auditors, coordinating information requests, and ensuring all the necessary documentation is readily available.
• Post-Audit Remediation Management: We can lead the implementation of your remediation plan and support corrective actions to address all audit findings effectively.

 

Regulatory Change Management Solutions

Empower Your Business with Proactive Regulatory Change Management:

• Stay Ahead of the Curve:  We actively monitor regulatory updates from global financial regulators like MAS, ASIC, FMA, FCA, SEC, and other regulators for consumer lenders' compliance changes and updates to evaluate the implications of regulatory changes.
• Impact Assessment and Mitigation Strategies: We analyse the potential impact of regulatory changes on consumer lenders' compliance management frameworks and operational processes. We then collaborate with you to develop effective mitigation strategies that support continued compliance and minimise disruption.
• Seamless Implementation and Change Management:  We guide consumer lenders through necessary process adjustments, update internal policies and procedures, facilitate a smooth transition through regulatory changes, and assist with effective communication with impacted stakeholders.