Compliance program resources

Question: What resources should I have for my compliance program? I'm new at this and have a limited budget.

Answer: Welcome to the group of new compliance officers with limited budgets! It seems to be the way things are in many institutions. Fortunately, there are a lot of resources you can use without paying out too much.

First, you need the regulations. These you can get in a variety of ways. The "bible" of regulation books is the FRB's Regulatory Service. This is available directly from the FRB in either paper of CD-rom form. The subscription price includes monthly updates. This is about as fast as you can get any information about regulation changes. You may have a personal bias for paper, but the CD-rom travels easily - if you have a laptop that includes a CD drive. If you are regulated by an agency other than the FRB, you should also tap into that agency's regulations so that you are kept up to date on their issuances. All of these regulations are also available on the Internet. If you have a good connection that you can use at any time, you could simply use the Internet. In fact, one of the fastest ways to find a regulation is through www.BankersOnline.com.

Next, you need advice and ideas. This comes from magazines and newsletters. Needless to say, we think Compliance Action is an invaluable resource. Another valuable resource is ABA's Bank Compliance Magazine. The articles in these publications provide advice and tips from people who have been where you are and done what you have to do.

Compliance Action also publishes the Compliance Accountability Manager, a manual that identifies specific job responsibilities by job and regulation, giving you a tool to make assignments of compliance responsibilities. It is also a useful training tool.You can also exchange ideas, ask questions, and learn from others' questions in the Bankers Threads section of BankersOnline.com. Some people will share their policies and other tools. You can also trade advice on what works in certain situations and what doesn't work as well.

The most important thing you can do is stay in touch with other compliance managers. Keep asking questions. You'll get answers.

Copyright © 2001 Compliance Action. Originally appeared in Compliance Action, Vol. 6, No. 9, 8/01