Having submitted a bid for Dublin to become the base for the EU’s new anti-money laundering watchdog earlier in the year, more than half (55pc) of Irish financial services companies have confidence in Ireland’s chances of seeing off the other bidders to win the contest.
This is according to the findings of new survey by the Compliance Institute, which polled 230 compliance professionals working in Irish financial services organisations nationwide on their thoughts about Ireland’s pitch to host the EU’s new anti-money laundering watchdog and what it could mean for the sector in the country.
The vast majority of those asked (86pc) believe that winning the bid to host the new authority will bolster compliance across the Irish financial services landscape.
The findings come on the back of new European research by AML Intelligence in which, in a poll of 2,256 European professionals, Dublin emerged the favourite city amongst Anti-Financial Crime (AFC) professionals to host Europe’s new Anti-Money Laundering Authority (AMLA)[1].
Since September 28, 2023, EU member states have been able to submit applications to host the new AMLA[2] and countries have until November 10, 2023 to do so.
Commenting on the survey findings, Michael Kavanagh, CEO of the Compliance Institute said:
“Winning the bid to host the EU’s new anti-money laundering watchdog would be a major coup for Ireland. Not only would it boost – and create huge opportunities across - Ireland’s financial services sector, it would further enhance our reputation as a centre for strong regulation and enforcement and strengthen the perception of Ireland as a safe place to do business. Having the new AMLA headquartered in Dublin would also have advantages for the local and wider economy and see great employment opportunities for professionals living here.
The new anti-money laundering watchdog will be a significant EU institution, tasked with supervision of obliged entities in the financial services sector in the first instance and eventually, those in the non-financial sector. So hosting the authority here would see some of the eurozone’s riskiest financial firms overseen from Dublin and see Ireland play a pivotal role in the EU fight against financial crime and money laundering. We believe Ireland is well placed to win this bid.”
Further highlights from the Compliance Institute AMLA survey reveal that:
- Half (50pc) of compliance professionals working in the Irish financial services sector believe it “likely” that Ireland will win the bid to host the AMLA, while 5pc deem it “very likely”.
- Four in ten (40pc) believe it “unlikely” that Ireland will win the bid to host the AMLA, while 5pm deem it “not very likely”.
