Eric Ellis, Director for Bank Secrecy Act/Anti-Money Laundering (BSA/AML) Policy, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC)
Increasing focus on the need for the effective implementation of sanctions and trade controls on a range of high-priority national security matters is surfacing questions on how to most effectively detect risk and counter evasion. In this session, our panel of specialists from the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), Davis Polk, and Kharon discuss best practices for detecting risk, in line with the existing FCC regulatory framework. Panelists address:
- The use of sanctions and export controls to address national security priorities.
- Current Treasury, OCC, and broad FCC priorities.
- How to operationalize priority sanctions and export controls evasion guidance, in line with broader regulatory program and exam mandates.
- Sanctions compliance, specifically regarding sanctions-related risk identification.
- Best practices and the use of new technology, data, and analytics to manage sanctions-related risk.
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SPEAKERS:
Ellis is the Director for Bank Secrecy Act/Anti-Money Laundering (BSA/AML) Policy in the Bank Supervision Policy Division of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). In this role, Eric directs policy related to BSA/AML and countering the financing of terrorism (CFT) for OCC examiners and supervised banks and manages the BSA/AML Policy staff. Before serving in this role, he was a BSA/AML Policy Specialist, primarily focused on the AML Act of 2020, and previously served as a BSA/AML Compliance Examiner in the OCC’s Large Bank Supervision Division, which includes the largest and most complex national banking companies and federal savings associations, as well as federal branches and agencies of foreign banks.
Before joining the OCC in 2016, Eric worked in private industry in various BSA/AML-related roles. Most recently, Eric was the North American Head of the Global Financial Crimes Audit Team at State Street, the largest custodian bank in the world, and prior to that, he was the U.S. Head of BSA/AML for Global Markets and Investment Banking at Bank of America.
Eric received his master’s degree in business administration (business law) from Suffolk University, Sawyer Business School and is a summa cum laude graduate of Baker College with a bachelor’s degree in business administration (finance). He is also a Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS).
Anna Morris, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Global Affairs, U.S. Department of the Treasury
Anna Morris is Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Global Affairs in the Office of Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes, where she is responsible for directing strategies to disrupt the financing of threats to national security and to protect the international financial system from abuse by illicit actors. Ms. Morris’s global portfolio includes the most serious threats to national security, including terrorism, North Korea, Iran, and Russia. Prior to this position, Ms. Morris served as a Director and Senior Advisor to the Assistant Secretary for Terrorist Financing, and has covered Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Mexico and broad anti-money laundering/combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) issues during her tenure.
Prior to joining Treasury, Ms. Morris spent five years at the U.S. Department of State covering Middle East and U.N. Security Council issues, including as Special Assistant to the Ambassador at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq in 2011-2012 and Acting Chief of the Sanctions Unit at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations in 2008. She joined the State Department as a Presidential Management Fellow in 2004.
Ms. Morris also served as a fellow at Singapore’s S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies focusing on U.S. foreign policy in Asia, specifically U.S.-China relations. Her writing has been published by The American Prospect, Monocle, World Politics Review, and the Economist Intelligence Unit, where she served as a Contributing Editor in Hong Kong and Singapore focusing on Asian economic issues.
Ms. Morris holds a Master of International Affairs from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs and a Bachelor of Arts (hons) from the College of the Holy Cross.
Dan Stipano, Partner, Davis Polk
Dan represents clients in state, federal and foreign regulatory enforcement actions, and provides assistance in establishing, maintaining and monitoring Bank Secrecy Act and anti-money laundering (BSA/AML) compliance programs.
His regulatory and enforcement experience includes more than 30 years at the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). As Deputy Chief Counsel from 2000-2016, Dan oversaw major OCC enforcement actions. He played a key role in significant BSA/AML rulemakings and policy issuances. While at the OCC, Dan supervised more than a dozen successful appeals. He was instrumental in bringing the first fair lending action taken by a federal banking agency against a bank and the first Unfair or Deceptive Acts or Practices action taken against a bank.
Dan has testified six times before Congress on enforcement and BSA/AML matters. He is a member of the advisory boards of ACAMS and the ABA/ABA Financial Crimes Enforcement Conference.
Howard Mendelsohn, Chief Client Officer, Kharon
Howard works closely with business, compliance, and legal professionals to strengthen programs and controls for managing risks at the intersection of global security and commerce. Howard has over two decades of experience in combating illicit financial activity in both the government and the private sector. Howard served at the U.S. Treasury Department from 2001 to 2011, including as Deputy Assistant Secretary and Assistant Secretary (Acting) for Treasury's Office of Intelligence and Analysis. Howard led Treasury's intelligence functions, including oversight of analytical production, risk assessment, security, and strategic planning. Following his service at Treasury, Howard held leadership positions in Enterprise Compliance at PNC Financial Services Group. He is a recognized thought leader on global security and risk matters and speaks regularly at conferences.