The Banking industry is one of the most highly regulated industries in the United States.  Various federal and state regulatory agencies are charged with oversight of financial services, and in addition, the Banking Services segment of the economy is subject to many additional regulations such as those promulgated by the SEC, Homeland Security, and various Treasury agencies.  In the computer age with the additional threats of identity theft, hacking and pfishing, additional oversight procedures have also become necessary, and are the focus of the Information Security Area of Visage. 

The professional expertise of Visage Solutions, LLC in the fields of compliance and risk management uniquely lends itself to operating in the financial services arena.  Its proprietary four phased approach to ensuring regulatory bank compliance is the base product of the Banking Services Division, but Visage also seeks to serve additional areas of need within the industry.

Currently, many banks will be subject to compliance with the Sarbanes Oxley Act, with such compliance to be in place by December 31, 2008.  Visage has provided guidance and services relative to SOX from the company’s inception in 2003.  Visage can assess the existing level of compliance as well as design and implement additional processes to ensure that financial institutions will meet or exceed SOX requirements.

The significant cost of providing services has led many financial institutions to outsource processes to contain costs internally.  The question then becomes one of the compliance of the vendors.  Awareness of vendor compliance is the responsibility of the financial institution, and it is held accountable.  Gauging the level of compliance by a vendor can be an expensive undertaking, and as a result, many financial institutions have begun to require that appropriate vendors offer proof of their compliance processes.  Through its history, Visage has worked with a number of vendors to become SAS 70 certified.  This certification provides the financial institution with a high degree of comfort that its vendors are compliant.  The decision by the vendors with whom Visage has worked, have come as a direct result of a request by financial institutions.

Additionally, as of December 31, 2008, many banks will be required to have their outside auditors comment, in the annual report, on the effectiveness of the institution’s internal controls.  Prior to this date, most banks have utilized a subjective approach to analyze internal controls, which, while efficient, will not satisfy the objectivity requirement of the regulators.  In order to mitigate the expense of this endeavor, Visage has developed a proprietary Risk Matrix Measurement Tool and Service for use by financial services companies.  This tool allows the entity to assess its strengths and potential weaknesses in the area of internal controls.

Each of these products fits comfortably within the scope of Visage Solutions’ areas of expertise, and its understanding of the financial services industry.