Build a Network of Compliance Friends Unlike other areas within the banking industry, compliance is not competitive. In my experience, compliance professionals are eager to share tools and resources with each other. If another compliance professional has already developed a risk assessment, a checklist or knows of a process that works well and is willing to share, take advantage. Why reinvent the wheel? The relationship should work both ways, so don’t forget to share your ideas, too; obviously, do not share proprietary or confidential information. How do you meet these “friends,” you ask? Well, one way is to attend compliance conferences and schools. It can be difficult to build a network of compliance friends if you only ever attend virtual events; therefore, meeting with other compliance professionals in person is crucial. Get out there and meet people. Typically, these events will host networking lunches and socializing opportunities to help introduce novice compliance officers to more seasoned ones. If you get the chance to attend any in-person events, I highly recommend you join the networking events and exchange business cards. Another way you can meet fellow compliance professionals is through local or online peer groups. You can also develop connections with your external auditor, outside consultants and state bankers association. Each of these relationships can provide meaningful and long-lasting resources throughout your career. Don’t Forget Your Lead Examiner The last piece of advice I will leave you with is this: Don’t forget to build a relationship with your lead examiner. Financial institutions are assigned a lead examiner by their federal regulator, and it is important to have a good rapport with this person. Whenever I felt challenged by a complicated regulatory issue or wanted an expert’s opinion on a matter beyond my scope of expertise, I contacted my examiner. In my experience, the examiner was more than willing to accommodate my inquiries and provided me with quality feedback. I also made an effort to attend events hosted by the regulatory agency, which provided another opportunity to meet with examiners in between exam cycles. Regulatory compliance has been a challenging and rewarding career path for me. Even now as a consultant, I continue to learn something new all the time. I have a passion for working in bank compliance and enjoy partnering with community bankers to help build successful compliance programs. I hope you find your career equally fulfilling. Aubree S. Rehmke is a risk and regulatory compliance consultant for Vantage Point Solutions based in South Dakota. Aubree has almost 20 years of experience in the financial services industry, and she has a passion for mentoring employees new to their roles in compliance and BSA. For most of her career, she served as the compliance officer and human resources manager for a small community bank in eastern Iowa. Aubree is a certified regulatory compliance manager and brings a broad range of regulatory and consumer compliance knowledge to the Vantage Point Financial Services team. She holds a B.A. from The University of Iowa and a diploma from the Graduate School of Banking at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she also earned a certificate in executive leadership. Aubree resides in Dubuque, Iowa. Vantage Point Solutions offers Virtual Compliance Officer and Virtual BSA Officer services, including mentoring programs. If you are interested in these services, contact Aubree at aubree.rehmke@vantagepnt.com. 1. https://www.ecfr.gov/ 2. https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-12 3. https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-31 4. https://www.fdic.gov/regulations/laws/rules/2000-0.html 5. https://www.federalreserve.gov/supervisionreg/reglisting.htm 6. https://occ.gov/topics/laws-and-regulations/index-laws-and-regulations.html 7. https://www.consumerfinance.gov/rules-policy/regulations/ 8. https://ncua.gov/regulation-supervision/rules-regulations 9. https://www.ftc.gov/legal-library/browse/statutes 10. https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-16 11. https://www.fincen.gov/resources/fincens-legal-authorities 12. https://www.fdic.gov/resources/supervision-and-examinations/consumercompliance-examination-manual/index.html 13. https://www.federalreserve.gov/publications/supmanual.htm 14. https://www.occ.treas.gov/publications-and-resources/publications/ comptrollers-handbook/index-comptrollers-handbook.html 15. https://www.consumerfinance.gov/compliance/supervision-examinations/ 16. https://ncua.gov/regulation-supervision/manuals-guides 17. https://bsaaml.ffiec.gov/ 18. https://www.fdic.gov/news/financial-institution-letters/index.html 19. https://www.federalreserve.gov/supervisionreg/srletters/srletters.htm 20. https://www.federalreserve.gov/supervisionreg/caletters/caletters.htm 21. https://www.occ.gov/news-events/newsroom/news-issuances-by-year/ bulletins/index-bulletins.html 22. https://www.consumerfinance.gov/compliance/supervisory-guidance/ 23. https://ncua.gov/regulation-supervision/letters-credit-unions-other-guidance 24. https://consumer.ftc.gov/consumer-alerts 25. https://www.ffiec.gov/press.htm 26. https://www.fincen.gov/resources/advisoriesbulletinsfact-sheets/advisories 32 | The Show-Me Banker Magazine
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