Thousands
of City staff risk prison sentences or hefty fines by unknowingly breaching
financial services laws because of insufficient training.
The
2004 Wide Learning Survey of Financial Services Compliance Training reveals
that 37 per cent of City staff have never been trained or received little
training on compliance. Many of those who have been trained on compliance were
also found to be lacking, with 18 per cent having received no training the past
two years and 37 per cent never having been on a refresher course.
Office
staff are particularly vulnerable, with 45 per cent of them never having refresher
training, compared with 24 per cent of managers.
As
new anti-money laundering legislation comes into force, 28 per cent confessed
to being unaware of their regulatory duties and 28 per cent could not identify
their money laundering officer.
E-learning
has become a much more popular compliance training tool, with 61 per cent using
it now, compared to 21 per cent in 2002.
By
Roisin Woolnough
