Robert LAURE: AMAF is first and foremost a union at the service of its members and the Principality

Robert LAURE, Vice-Chairman of Julius Baer Wealth Management Monaco, is now Chairman of the Association Monégasque des Activités Financières (AMAF), which held its first General Meeting on January 22. Which team for which projects? We asked him a few questions.

Has the organization chart of the AMAF Board changed?

I wanted it to evolve without revolution, and to ensure that Board members were committed to the AMAF. On my proposal, the AGM of January 22 elected a balanced team.

The four Vice-Presidencies of the Board are now as follows:
The functions for social affairs and management activities remain led respectively by Mr. Régis ETIENNE, Monaco Regional Manager of Banque Populaire Méditerranée; and Mr. Anthony STENT-TORRIANI, Managing Director of Monaco Asset Management.
Françoise PUZENAT, Managing Director of BNP Paribas Monaco, replaces Mathieu FERRAGUT, Managing Director of CFM Indosuez Wealth Management Monaco, who assumes the role of Treasurer.
Jean-François CULLIEYRIER becomes Special Advisor to the Chairman.

Mr Franck BIANCHERI, Managing Director of Penta Advisory Monaco SAM, assumes the role of Secretary, and heads the Anti-Money Laundering Commission.
Mr. Nicolas FEIT, Managing Director of Société Générale Private Banking Monaco and SG Monaco, chairs the Commission de Promotion de la Place, in collaboration with Mr. Alejandro VELEZ, AMAF Advisor in charge of international promotion, and Managing Director of UBS Monaco SA. They both represent banks of international stature, reflecting the reality of the Principality.

What about advisors?

I proposed maintaining the existing team and reinforcing it with Mr Alejandro VELEZ, Mr Gérard OHRESSER, Managing Director of Edmond de Rothschild Monaco, and Mr Massimo PASSAMONTI, Managing Director of Privatam SAM, one of the Principality’s leading asset management companies. Ms Sérène EL MASRI, Managing Director of UBP SA Monaco, Mr Albert HENRIQUES PASCOAL, Managing Director of Bank Julius Baer Monaco SAM, Mr Carlo MATURI, Managing Director of EFG Bank Monaco, and Mr Patrick CHURCHILL, Founder of Churchill Capital SAM, complete the team of Advisors.

The General Secretariat remains the responsibility of Mr Denis IOZIA, General Secretary, assisted by Ms Gaëlle LLORET, Executive Assistant and Lisa CHAINAS, Secretary.

I think I can safely say that we have a well-prepared, motivated and committed team!

Finally, I would like to underline the remarkable work carried out by previous mandates for the benefit of our members, financial activities and the Principality. As a token of this recognition, and at my suggestion, the AGM of January 22 conferred honorary status on Mr. Etienne FRANZI, unanimously electing him Honorary Chairman of the AMAF!

What projects will the AMAF be working on immediately?

• One of the first major projects is, of course, to maintain a union at the service of its members. This means developing information and training, and strengthening our role in supporting the Principality’s decision-makers (the Government, the National Council) in their reflections on regulatory and/or administrative developments. I immediately contacted the people in charge: maintaining and strengthening this type of relationship, for the benefit of our members, is fundamental.
• If we are to continue to provide our members with the services they deserve, we need to strengthen our General Secretariat. We’ll be adding financial, legal and administrative expertise. We will continue to support the two associations set up at the initiative of AMAF: the Association Monégasque pour la Finance Durable (AMFID) and the Association Monégasque des Compliance Officers (AMCO).
• A whole series of subjects are already open for discussion or processing. Notably the law on trade unions; we also have some points of clarification to obtain from the European authorities on sanctions linked to the fight against money laundering. Monaco is fully aligned with the application of these sanctions, but in certain situations, derogations are established. Can Monaco benefit from these exemptions? In what context? Today, we need to clarify the situation.
• Of course, Moneyval remains the key issue. At the request of the Minister of State, H.E. Mr. Pierre DARTOUT, our cooperation with the Comité de Coordination et de Suivi de la Stratégie Nationale de lutte contre le blanchiment de capitaux, le financement du terrorisme, la prolifération des armes de destruction massive et la corruption will be strengthened, with my participation and that of our Secretary, Mr. Franck BIANCHERI.
• The promotion of the Place is also an important issue. As a first step, we will be reassessing our communication tools and media: website, magazine, newsletter, annual report? We need to question their relevance. A working group led by Mr Nicolas FEIT with Mr Alejandro VELEZ and Mr Massimo PASSAMONTI has been set up to address this issue.
  Secondly, we will draw on an editorial line to promote the reality of our activities, as opposed to the repetition of certain commonplaces, often based on incorrect shortcuts.
  Finally, we will focus our communications strategy both inside and outside the Principality, towards our customers and prospects as well as our more institutional contacts.
  All this will continue to involve collaboration with other Monegasque entities and players committed to promoting Monaco, such as MEB, Monaco Private Label and DIATN.

In conclusion, there are many exciting topics to explore. Not all of them are presented here, and I’ll come back to them if you wish.