Portman International fosters culture of compliance

Risk of financial loss and reputational harm is a major headache for businesses operating in today's dynamic fast-changing financial services sector. Keeping up to date and ensuring that adequate risk management systems are in place, is a costly and complex exercise not easily administered by smaller businesses.

Portman International Limited has identified a niche in this market and, while having a regulatory and compliance department overseeing the operations of its three offices in Floriana, London and Dublin, the firm has been making its regulatory and compliance services available to clients.

"Portman International had embarked on implementing EU standard anti-money laundering systems across all group companies, years before this became mandatory in Malta," David Marinelli, group managing director, has emphasised.

Manfred Galdes, manager for regulatory and compliance at Portman International, says the company philosophy of 'integrity-driven performance' confers a competitive advantage on businesses. Not only has the firm persevered to create and maintain a culture of compliance internally, but it also endeavours to transpose this culture to its business partners in the countries where it operates.

Apart from mitigating the risks of financial loss and reputational harm, Dr Galdes explains, the company's extensive efforts in recent years to set up a robust compliance team and to instil a compliance culture throughout the firm also served to implement its underlying policy of always seeking to add value to the services it offers.

Among the department's principal tasks is the implementation of Portman International's risk management and anti-money laundering policies and procedures, which are constantly updated. As more and more businesses are being brought within the scope of regulation, the expertise garnered over the years by Portman International in the prevention of money laundering and financing of terrorism is now being transferred to its clients.

Assistance is provided in the creation of tailor-made procedures and internal systems of supervision to ensure adherence to regulatory requirements under the various laws and regulations in force within the jurisdictions where the firm operates.

"The financial services sector is considered to be one of the most dynamic industries around the globe," Dr Galdes says. "Operators in Malta and abroad would certainly agree that the regulatory environment in which they work continues to change rapidly, practically in real-time.

"Keeping up to date is no mean feat for any professional - it is an expensive and cumbersome exercise for all."

In its efforts to continue to add value to its core services, Portman International now also provides the service of a compliance officer or money laundering reporting officer where clients prefer to outsource these functions in view of the complex and far-reaching responsibilities emanating from the law, especially in the case of funds and fund managers.

In these cases Portman International assists its clients to secure and monitor their own systems and data, and to ensure that all relevant rules and regulations are adhered to at all times. The firm interacts on the client's behalf with regulatory authorities, assists with the registration of funds and fund managers, and also monitors regulatory developments affecting the client's business, while seeing to any training requirements for staff. The firm also provides additional resources to supplement the compliance function if it already in place.