The Institute of Banking Studies held in cooperation with Bond Associates Ltd. / UK a specialized seminar entitled Banking and Financial Services Regulatory Compliance during 11/12-15/12/2005 and was attended by (24) participants representing the different banks and financial institutions in the Kingdom.

The seminar focused on the importance of bank's compliance with the regulations and international banking standards as well as determining the role of the compliance officer and the nature of the challenges and difficulties facing compliance officers in the fields of money laundering , risks management, internal and external inspection and auditing according to the resolutions of Basel II , and the impact of the International Accounting Standards , Especially (IAS 39), on the compliance process.

Also, the seminar discussed the ways of cooperation between central banks and the banking institutions regarding compliance, and it emphasized the significance of the upper management role in controlling performance in general and the degree of compliance. The seminar also emphasized the increasing need to create an independent entity for compliance in banks and financial institutions directly controlled by the upper management and responsible for measuring compliance with banking and financial regulations and the international standards; because not complying with these regulations has negative effects on the profitability and financial position of the bank as well as its market share.
In view of the distinguished success of this seminar like other seminars held at the Institute of Banking Studies in cooperation with Bond Associates Ltd. , discussions were held between the two parties to carry out this seminar another time during the coming year after enhancing its subject with the latest case studies and applications in this field , in addition to holding a specialized seminar dealing with the latest techniques of detecting bank counterfeit and forgery and another advanced seminar on combatting money laundering in banks and financial institutions in order to train and qualify the cadres of the financial and banking sector and raise their academic and technical skills , and develop the methods of practicing banking and financial operations through spreading the latest developments in the international banking industry , which will raise the performance standards of the local financial and banking institutions to the level of those applicable in developed countries .