► Full reference :
M.-A. Frison-Roche, "Obligation de compliance et gouvernance bancaire (Compliance obligations and banking governance)",
in Chair in Business Ethics: Compliance, ESG and
Sustainability Reporting & National Association of Bank Lawyers (ANJB),
Compliance et vigilance bancaire : la participation des acteurs du secteur bancaire et financier à la LCB/FT (
Compliance and Banking Vigilance: the Participation of Banking and Financial Sector Players in AML/CFT) , Faculty of Law, Catholic University of Lille, Lille, 12 March 2026. -
🧮view the full programme for the event (in French) -
📶view the slides (in French) -
read the summary of this conference and the colloquium on LinkedIn -
📝This lecture will form the basis of a contribution to a forthcoming book in the 📚
Régulations & Compliance series, co-published by the
Journal of Regulation & Compliance (JoRC) and Lefebvre-Dalloz. -
► English presentation of this introductory lecture of the symposium : Based on a specific method, three perspectives will be taken. In
method, to shed light on the round tables making up the day's meetings without addressing the subject in their place or pretending to answer in advance the questions they will raise, or seeking to conclude in advance without having listened to anything, which is sometimes the flaw of introductions, which are so often a kind of disguised closing statement, with just a few question marks to give the impression of change, I have adopted the old, old method of the "triple funnel" introduction. This involves starting from a point other than the subject of the conference itself,
Compliance and banking vigilance: the participation of banking and financial sector players in AML/CFT, in order to approach the subject from an external perspective and in a preliminary manner, nbsp;then moving on to a second external point, and doing so a third time, so that after this three-part presentation, the subject has been explored in sufficient depth to allow the following speakers to focus on the specific topic at hand. This is all the easier given that the chosen theme itself focuses on three points: a
specific ambition (the "fight against money laundering and terrorist financing"), a
specific sector (the "banking sector") and a
specific activity carried out by individuals; three specific terms: one ambition (the "fighting agains AML/CFT""activity"). – one sectors (the "banking sector") and one active department (the "participation of stakeholders"). - My
first starting point is to define what Compliance Law is in order to link Compliance Law to the subject it covers: the banking sector. Because if it were simply a matter of "being conform with applicable regulations", it is difficult to understand why the banking sector is so concerned, so constrained, so exposed to "compliance", which is simply the British way of saying "conformity". There must be more to it than simply obeying every rule and standards for preventing breaches for it, to be obliged to be so structuring and for the banking sector to be at the forefront. It therefore appears that Compliance Law is not simply mechanical obedience to a body of regulations, but rather the contribution made by systemic operators to the realisation of political ambitions that are essential for the future (the "Monumental Goals", both negative and positive). It is in this capacity that the banking sector, because it is composed of "crucial operators", is the natural subject of Compliance Law. Its power should not be criticised; it is indispensable. In an emerging branch of law that is systemic, that is
Ex Ante, that is above all a Law of action whose object is the future. Techniques of conformity is only one tool. ⛏️
Go further : 🕴🏻M.-A. Frison-Roche, 📝
Compliance Law, 2016 🕴🏻M.-A. Frison-Roche, 📝
Monumental goals, the beating heart of compliance law, in 🕴🏻M.-A. Frison-Roche,
📕The monumental goals of compliance, 2022 🕴🏻M.-A. Frison-Roche, 📝
The Birth of a New Branch of Law: Compliance Law, 2024 🕴🏻M.-A. Frison-Roche, 📝
Compliance and conformity: distinguishing between them in order to articulate them, 2024 - My
second starting point is to start with the "Monumental Goals", this normative foundation of Compliance Law, and link it to this present specific case, privileged ambition of combating money laundering and terrorist financing. Certain things are surprising. Indeed, if we refuse at the introductory stage to delve into the technicalities of the texts and the litigation surrounding them, we may wonder why these two subjects (money laundering and terrorist financing) are linked in this way. We can see the correlation between banking activitird and money laundering. Notaries, auctioneers, and, in short, anyone who handles money are also involved in the fight against it. Moreover, if we see the
ratio legis, the idea remains that the one who is merely the conduit (to use the familiar basis distinction in the regulatory rule of essential network infrastructure) could also be the one who organises the content: the image remains of the money laundering banker. Even if the ex ante compliance diligence whitewashes in advance, this suspicion that remains of an ex post sanction. We pay dearly for this representation, which permeates the repressive, even Criminal, Law of banking supervision, particularly in matters of secrecy, transparency, information and risk-taking. But why extend it to terrorist financing? Because the suspicion of terrorist bankers no longer exists. The case becomes clear-cut again. It is a matter of internalising within banks the sovereign responsibility to intervene before it is too late, before people are killed. Financing is the weak and visible point of systemic evil. This is understandable. It has moved from ex post (financial processing after the crime) to ex ante (financial processing before the crime). It is of a different nature. But if this is of a different nature, there is no reason to stop this Ex Ante surveillance, because money movements provide so much information about collective and individual projects. For example, in the digital space. We must be careful about this, in light of the principle of freedom, of which the principle of non-interference is only one aspect. ⛏️
Go further : 🕴🏻M.-A. Frison-Roche, 📝
The Ex Ante – Ex Post Couple, Justification of a Specific Regulatory Law, in 🕴🏻M. -A. Frison-Roche,
📕Les engagements dans les systèmes de régulation, 2006 🕴🏻M.-A. Frison-Roche, 📝
Ex Ante Responsability, a pillar of Compliance Law, 2022 🕴🏻M.-A. Frison-Roche, 📝
Compliance, Vigilance and Civil Liability: Understanding and Keeping a Level Head, in 🕴🏻M.-A. Frison-Roche, 📕The obligation of compliance, 2025 - My
third starting point is "Governance", a rather mysterious term, as it relates more to the political art of mobilising human beings than to Law. Why is it necessary for "actors" to participate, when legal norms are binding and, in most cases, take the form of Criminal Law? The combination of the most violent norms, the application of financial penalties, and even deprivation of liberty, being often claimed as a victory for financial and banking regulatory and supervisatory bodies , even as procedural principles are being rolled back, could be a source of incomprehension. Moreover, in a legal system that would be challenged by this "Governance", it is up to the State to dictate and the banks to obey. But if banks take charge of everything, it becomes difficult to maintain this system, and it is undoubtedly no longer tenable if the Monumental Goal expands to dimensions that exceed those of the State but correspond to those of the banks. The risk then is to move from one governing body to another, which is a growing social and political risk. In practical terms, banking operators can achieve this reversal in two ways. Firstly, by effectively involving the human beings who make up their organisations, both internally and externally, their partners and stakeholders. This can be called "Governance" in an alliance based on explicitcommon goals, with contributions that are not taken at face value but are provided by "compliance structures", "credible behaviour" and "plausible trajectories". In this respect, mutual banks are in a better position than others. Training mechanisms, which are central to Compliance Law, play an essential role here. Secondly, alliances with public authorities and regional roots, with concrete assessments, are decisive. The contract then becomes not only the mandatory means by which the regulated bank fulfils its regulatory obligation, but also the most traditional legal tool by which it exercises its freedom to contribute, in its own way, to the achievement of Monumental Goals for the future of the social group, which is currently under threat.
We are far beyond "conformity": this is called Compliance Law. ⛏️
Find out more : 🕴🏻M.-A. Frison-Roche, 📝
A substantive Compliance Law, based on the European humanist tradition,in 🕴🏻M. -A. Frison-Roche,
📕Towards a Europe of Compliance, 2019 🕴🏻M.-A. Frison-Roche, 📝
Training: content and context of Compliance Law, in 🕴🏻M. -A. Frison-Roche,
📕Compliance tools, 2020 🕴🏻M.-A. Frison-Roche, 📝
Compliance Contract, compliance clauses, 2022 🕴🏻M.-A. Frison-Roche,
⚙️Compliance and Contracts, 2026 🕴🏻M.-A. Frison-Roche,
🏛️Official Mission given by the French Minister of Justice, Compliance Law, Work in progress, 2025 – 2026. -
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