US bank associations focus on best practices compliance

Washington, DC -- US banking trade associations are stepping up their advisory services to help their members develop quality operational risk management practices, including compliance with both local and international financial rules.

Most of the US banking associations are running programmes designed to advise their members on interpretation of and compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and Basel II. Although not all US banks are going to be subject to either set of rules, many are seeing the regulations as setting a benchmark for best practices in a specific field. For example, only banks with more than 500 shareholders need comply with Sarbanes-Oxley, but many firms see the corporate governance provisions of the law as