The two-day African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) Customer Due Diligence and Corporate Governance Forum held in Dakar from 28 to 29 October 2014 has ended with participants establishing an African customer due diligence repository to assist in reducing costs incurred by financial institutions in meeting compliance requirements on African transactions and in mitigating other negative impacts of current due diligence requirements on African trade and trade finance.
In their communique at the end of the Forum, the participants said that the African Customer Due Diligence Repository Platform (ACDIRP) will serve as a centralized source of customer due diligence information on African banks, financial institutions and corporate entities in accordance with international best practices and will be available by subscription.
The participants, who included bankers, representatives of financial institutions, corporates, and regulators, stated that ACDIRP would operate as an online platform and would also be used by participating entities for the sharing of experience and knowledge in customer due diligence and corporate governance.
In his comments, Afreximbank President Jean-Louis Ekra had told the participants that the increasing costs confronted by African banks and financial institutions in complying with the constantly evolving compliance regulations imposed by the principal international financial centres had made it necessary to find standardized Africa-specific solutions to challenges in the financial services sector.
He stated that the establishment of ACDIRP would make it easier for African financial institutions to comply with best practices in customer due diligence processes and procedures.
During the Forum, participants heard presentations on key aspects of corporate governance and due diligence from African and international experts. Discussions focused on customer due diligence and corporate governance in Africa, with emphasis on solutions to the challenges faced by financial institutions and corporate entities on the continent.
The Forum was organised by Afreximbank in collaboration with the Banque Centrale des Etats de l’Afrique de l’Ouest, the Government of Senegal, and CISSCORP Holding International, a Senegal-based consulting firm.
Afreximbank President Jean-Louis Ekra addressing the press following the opening of the Afreximbank Customer Due Diligence Forum in Dakar