Objectives
The Luxembourg Association of Compliance Officers ("ALCO") aims at bringing together Compliance Officers in order to:
Constitute
Constitute a national representative body;
Work Out
Work out a harmonised approach with regard to laws and regulations;
Engage
Engage in dialogue with relevant authorities.
About ALCO
The "Association of Luxemburg Compliance Officers" for the Financial Sector was created as of 20 December 2000.
These years have been rich in events and allowed ALCO to become one of the recognized 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 organization, the Compliance function has not always been able to find its place within the organization. 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 recognized: 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 recognized 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.
Fight against laundering of money of criminal origin and against:
Terrorism financing; integrity of financial markets, respect for ethical principles, all these are now important part of the financial sector today and that influences its activities widely.
The Compliance Officer function has appeared among credit institutions, PSFs, insurance companies. The Compliance Officer role is to make sure that these institutions comply with the current legislative, statutory and ethical standards.
Today, the Compliance function in the financial sector is officially recognised, on an international level by the Committee of Basel, and locally in Luxembourg by the CSSF. This function becomes compulsory in all the institutions of the financial sector in Luxembourg.
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Trainings
The concept is based on the principle of modular course units, tests and the validation of the professional knowledge on different levels:
Implementing the regulatory framework of the Compliance Officer in the Financial Sector
This course covers four topics of Compliance from a practical angle. Each topic is debated in a 2 hour session.
Fundamentals of a Compliance Officer's Function
This course conveys an understanding of the basics of Compliance and different application areas. The complete module covers 4 different themes, each covered in a 2 hour session.
In order to set up a solid and reliable framework aiming at professionalizing the function of Compliance Officer, the House of Training and ALCO have now jointly developed a complete training program.
Press
20 YEARS ALCO
In order to set up a solid and reliable framework aiming at professionalizing the function of Compliance Officer, the House of Training and ALCO have now jointly developed a complete training program.