As banks face heightened levels of regulatory challenges, many of them, especially those in developing countries, are struggling to maintain their reputations. This paper addresses the following questions: How do commercial banks in developing countries like Lebanon respond to institutional pressures for compliance concerning anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-financing of terrorism (CFT)? How do Regulatory Technology (RegTech) solutions contribute to solving their compliance problems in this domain and why may the potential of RegTech be limited in the Lebanese context? To answer these questions, we conducted a field study among Lebanese commercial banks and their vendors. Based on thematic analysis, findings reveal the importance of technology for enhancing compliance of Lebanese banks with international regulations, especially US ones, thereby avoiding sanctions. Thus, the adoption of RegTech is mainly due to coercive pressures, whereas the choice of RegTech solutions is highly dependent on mimetic and normative forces, and happens later. Results also show that manual processes are insufficient for compliance due to the huge number of regulations and transactions. Hence, RegTech for AML/CFT is notably adopted for the efficient screening of clients and monitoring of their transactions. These solutions enhance decision-making processes for compliance teams, which become effective when the banks ensure an adequate interaction between employees and the new technologies. However, RegTech presents several additional challenges that have to be overcome for effective compliance such as finding the right vendors and ensuring data quality. Moreover, the geopolitical context in developing countries like Lebanon limits the potential of RegTech for AML/CFT.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
customersupport@researchsolutions.com
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.