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Wendy Brooks (Convera): Finding Regulatory Reassurance for Customers in Luxembourg
Wendy Brooks, the Deputy Chief Compliance Officer, of Convera and Authorised Manager, Convera Europe S.A. explains the choice of Luxembourg as the location for its company’s headquarters. Wendy Brooks reveals that the Duchy’s reputation for conscientiously keeping abreast of constantly evolving regulation was a deciding factor. Strong compliance also offers Convera’s clients’ customers reassurance as they engage in complex international transactions.
What role does compliance play in Convera’s business?
As a global money transfer business, Convera has 26,000 customers and last year had a turnover of more than $170 billion. The strength of our compliance program is critical for clients. We move their money around the world and offer hedging products as they seek to capture value by navigating the complexities of global commerce. In today’s fast-changing world, it is critical to offer strong compliance to our clients. You wouldn’t trust your company’s money to an organization that was not committed to doing everything right. From a safeguarding perspective, CSSF checks on issues like Anti-Money Laundering and sanctions ensuring that we remain compliant. We know this attention to compliance is of comfort to our clients.
“A top class compliance program is a major part of Convera’s value proposition.”
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Why did you choose Luxembourg?
Adhering to the compliance regime is a major part of Convera’s value proposition. The strength of the Duchy’s regulatory infrastructure is key. A deciding factor in locating our headquarters in Luxembourg was the Duchy’s reputation for conscientiously keeping abreast of the constantly evolving regulatory environment. We get regulations that protect customers and are in sync with our times like CSSF’s introduction of a questionnaire that interrogates using AI. We wanted to be in an environment recognized for a strong regulator who understands international finance and encourages it. We have built an amazing team with a high diversity of languages, nationalities and areas of specialization. This diverse culture is highly beneficial.
What are your current goals?
Our business is aiming for significant growth: My role is to make sure that compliance is perfect. Just as an example, we want to keep up with the changes such as the implementation of the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) in January next year. A colleague compared me and my associates from the “Gotomarket” team to the technical crew in a racing team car. Our clients are driving the build and we are here to monitor the integrity of the car and anticipate any potential issue before it impacts the performance of the team. Strong compliance has a widespread impact. I get invited to events by our banking and insurance partners in the US. The feedback when I present our compliance program is that our strong compliance culture provides reassurance to our clients' own customers.