Compliance in banking can be more than a full-time job. It requires following, understanding and timely implementing constantly updated regulations from a complex banking and regulatory system at the state and federal levels. With all this complexity, it is important to have a compliance team that is expert in the field and ready to implement a new solution or find and address issues before they become a problem for your Bank. It can be hard to find and train the right personnel, especially in a time of high turnover and as many seasoned compliance professionals retire. Compliance First Banking Solutions is here to help. With customizable compliance solutions, our team of compliance experts can help your Bank with a tailored approach.
Compliance First Banking Solutions offers both long-term compliance management and short-term compliance organization. Our long-term management approach allows our dedicated team to work within your Bank for an extended period, developing relationships of trust with your employees and learning what makes your Bank unique. Here, our compliance specialist can take on the functions of a compliance officer to create and implement a permanent compliance solution and oversee your Bank’s staff as they handle the day in and day out compliance work.
A different approach may be preferred for some banks. Compliance First Banking Solutions can instead work hand in hand with your Bank’s compliance officer. Working within your Bank’s structure, our compliance specialist will create a tailored compliance management approach to identify and resolve compliance issues and help train your compliance team to implement strong standards and processes.
Compliance First Banking Solutions will work with you to determine which approach best suits your Bank. Our team can help your Bank transform its compliance program by producing and maintaining risk assessments and overseeing the training of Bank employees and the Board of Directors. We will also work with you to complete regulatory reviews of all compliance areas, including consumer deposit and lending, flood, appraisals, fair lending, CRA assessment and others to identify deficiencies and implement corrective action and training, as needed. Our team can establish compliance meetings on a schedule that best fits your Bank’s needs. Here, our compliance specialist can set the agenda, record minutes, guide the discussion and report to the Board.
Compliance Operations Specialist
As part of Compliance First Banking Solutions’ launch, we welcome our newest Compliance Operations Specialist, Erica Friedt. A Kansas City native, Erica has worked in banking for over 14 years, spending seven years as a Compliance and Bank Secrecy Act Officer and auditor. As a Certified Regulatory Compliance Manager, Erica has worked in several financial institutions, so she understands the compliance needs of banks, large and small. Erica started her career as a part-time teller and worked as a consumer loan processor before moving to compliance. This gives her a unique insight due to her experience with compliance reviews and exams as both the banker and the auditor. Describing her approach to compliance, Erica says, “Regulators push for a culture of compliance from the top down and recommend taking a risk-based approach. My goal is to make compliance part of everyday operations so it becomes second nature. This is achieved by being proactive and transparent and sharing knowledge and expectations with every member of the team.”
Compliance First Banking Solutions is already making a positive impact in Kansas banks. Frank Carson IV of Carson Bank in Mulvane, Kansas, said, “We found ourselves in a quandary when the Bank’s compliance officer gave notice to begin a new position this past year. Finding a replacement, properly educating, and maintaining an existing, acceptable regulatory rating at a community bank is no small task. We called the Kansas Bankers Association for help and explained our dilemma; they had the answer. Kansas Bankers Consulting Services [editor’s note: now CFBS], a subsidiary of the KBA, is one of the greatest moves we have made in compliance. They have one of the most renowned legal departments in the nation. Well trained, up to date, a great staff that has worked well with all our people. Just what we needed, just what we expected from our KBA.”
There is no “one size fits all” approach to compliance. Compliance First Banking Solutions will work closely with you to tailor a compliance solution to fit your Bank’s needs. We offer a whole team of compliance experts that will reduce the burden on your employees so they can focus on serving your customers and community. If you are interested in the service, please contact Erica Friedt at efriedt@ksbankers.com.
