Answer:
Answer by Michael Guard:
There is not any specific pre-employment screening required that I am aware of. The importance of it has been pointed out by the regulators, but they are leaving the decision on exactly what to do up to each financial institution. The regulators do expect that, at the very least, every employee that will have access to the "keys" to the network, system administrators, the entire MIS Department, tech support, etc. will have background checks.
Here in our state we can obtain a criminal history check from the State Bureau of Investigations for $10. You get report of a person's criminal convictions. It will not include anything they were accused of but not convicted of. Therefore, there is a real limit on its value, but it the absolute least any financial institution should require. In my opinion this should be required for every employee in every bank. Another good option is to utilize the ABA's fingerprinting program.
I think that anyone who is being considered for a technical position like a network administrator should have the highest security clearance in the bank. There is no one else with the level of access they will have, there is no information on the network which should be considered unreachable to them, nor is anyone else remotely close to being able to cause as serious of a problem or as great of a financial loss to the institution if they end up disgruntled and decide to teach the bank a lesson. Every reference in their resume should be confirmed and a record kept of it.
Answer:
Answer by Clayton Hoskinson:
I would suggest a thorough comprehensive background check, not just a check of criminal histories through your state law enforcement agency. The problem with a criminal history check, as pointed out by Michael Guard, is that it only reports on convictions. If the person has ever been a suspect, but not charged there would be no record. Local Police Departments where the potential employee lived can release information on the potential employee that will include charged and suspect activity.
Psychological testing is really a picture in time of the person you are looking to hire. In the police service they use this kind of testing to see if you have the "correct" mental makeup to do the job. With financial institutions, the hiree at the time of employment may be a good choice. But over time their personal financial status, family makeup, or other factors may change, giving them inducements to commit a "security violation".
A thorough background check may provide previously unseen information about the intended hiree. You can't cover all of the unforeseen eventualities, when hiring a potential employee. But you must make a good faith effort to hire people who can do the job and not create problems. Unfortunately, the time and cost of a comprehensive background check would have to be factored in. This alone probably causes more financial institutions to skip a comprehensive check.
First published on BankersOnline.com 8/6/01
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