The Luxembourg Association of Compliance Officers
(“ALCO”) was created in 2000. These years have been rich in events and
allowed ALCO to become one of the recognised players in the Luxembourg
financial industry.
In
the beginning, some Compliance Officers from the financial sector met
up and began by making note of their differences. This is because
Compliance Officers came from various backgrounds such as former
lawyers, finance professionals, or even internal auditors.
Connected to more "senior" structures such as the legal department or
internal audit, or - conversely – independent structures reporting
directly to the top of the organisation, the Compliance function has
not always been able to find its place within the organisation. Above
all, the Compliance function’s objectives were sometimes vague and could
not always be distinguished from those of internal audit.
This raised the necessity of defining more clearly the role and status
of the Compliance Officer. As a result, ALCO was created in December
2000 with about thirty members. From the beginning, ALCO benefited
from encouragement and support from the regulatory authorities of the
financial sector, as well as from other professional associations.
ALCO has developed very fast – today it has more than 800 members
representing more than 150 institutions.
Its standing is recognised:
ALCO is frequently consulted by the Authorities in diverse instances
and is also invited to participate in various works, most notably
those concerning the fight against money laundering.
Since October 2004, and just like the internal audit function, the
Compliance function has been officially recognised by the financial
sector.
Having reached its first stage of maturity, ALCO opened up to the
insurance sector in 2002. Indeed, the ethical obligations of the
financial sector do not differ, in their principles, from those of the
insurance sector.
Today, ALCO contributes by its action to enrich and reinforce the image and reputation of the Luxembourg market.