Nordea cooperates with the University of Lodz on a new course: ‘Anti-Money Laundering Analyst’

As one of the leaders of the European banking sector Nordea has a duty to prevent the company from being used to facilitate the flow of funds intended to finance crime. Money laundering can be defined as the process by which criminals attempt to conceal the true origin and/or ownership of the proceeds of crime. If they succeed, the money can lose its criminal identity and appear legitimate. In accordance with European and Polish law, financial institutions and accounting offices are obliged to introduce an internal procedure to prevent money laundering and the financing of terrorism – also known as anti-money laundering (AML) practices.

“We have been invited to cooperate to create new fields of study, where we will be able to contribute in theory and practice and share our knowledge of how banks and financial institutions protect their customers by way of anti-money laundering practices. Postgraduate studies in the field of AML at the University of Lodz are not only a response to the needs required for graduates who, after this course, will be perfectly equipped to work in AML services, but also an opportunity to recognise the position of our region in the field of operational services,” says Piotr Birski, Head of KYC Services Personal Banking.

“AML is one of the fastest growing areas in the business services sector. This is not only due to a legal requirement, but also part of the process of building trust and protecting the company's reputation. Effective control procedures help ensure the financial security of the company, protecting it from the risk of losses. In addition, responsible conduct in the area of AML increases the attractiveness of the company for customers and business partners. Thanks to the high quality of the work of our analysts, more and more countries decide to use the support of operational centres located in Poland. We are glad that Łódź is going to launch a nationwide field of study that responds to the needs of the service sector – one of the most dynamically developing branches of the economy,” says Agnieszka Belowska Gosławska, Head of Group Compliance Office at Nordea.

Nordea and anti-money laundering

At Nordea, the AML process is used in relation to two sectors: Personal Banking, serving personal customers, and Large Corporates & Institutions (LC&I), focusing on large, often globally operating, companies. The actions taken by our AML teams are, among other things, aimed at: limiting the ability of individual countries to finance wars, imposing real financial costs on their political elites and preventing financial support to terrorist organisations.

“Fighting financial crime is very motivating for me. I’m aware that my actions have a direct impact on the security of banking transactions,” says Anna Kątna, AML & Sanctions Processing Specialist, LC&I.