We leverage our deep understanding of Georgia's banking industry and regulatory landscape to help our clients achieve their financial objectives. Opening bank accounts and ensuring uninterrupted account operation, especially for complex businesses, asset-holding vehicles, and high-net-worth individuals, can be challenging. Skyward Solutions shall assist you in setting up bank accounts, receiving funds, and making payments efficiently. Our solutions include:

Bank Selection

We start by understanding our clients’ financial needs (i.e., cross-border trade, investment, safeguarding of wealth) to select banking institutions that align with their requirements and ambitions. We also create client profiles (i.e., nature of business, source of wealth, connections) and, by leveraging our long-standing relationship with banks, ascertain beforehand whether clients fit the appetite of relevant banking institutions.

Account Opening

We represent our clients in their interaction with banks through every stage of the account-opening process. We assist and provide guidance in collecting and validating the required due diligence data, information, and documents, as well as completing the “Know Your Customer” questionnaires and other paperwork. Our objective is to not simply set up an account, but to negotiate the acceptable terms of client activity with a bank, which is a pre-condition for an unhindered account operation in the long-run.

Account Operation

We assist our clients who need to conduct large and frequent transactions across multiple jurisdictions due to the nature of their business activity or lifestyle. Cross-border transactions are frequently delayed, suspended,or rejected in today’s complex regulatory and sanctions framework. We advise clients in adjusting transactions and corroborating their validity in line with banks’ policies. We also liaise with banks to ensure our clients’ transactions are carried out unimpeded.

We assist our clients in obtaining licenses and other regulatory authorizations by helping them navigate a complex application process and meet the regulator’s requirements. Any entity wishing to carry out financial or virtual asset-related services must be so authorized by the National Bank of Georgia. Skyward Solutions shall advise and guide you on the licensing and authorization requirements to ensure an efficient application process. Our solutions include:

Application

We shall manage the entire application process from start to finish by setting out a clear action plan and providing advice at every stage of the application lifecycle. We start by helping our clients understand the obligations specific to their industries and the resources required therein. We shall liaise with the regulator on your behalf, complete the required paperwork, and review your business strategies, and operational and technology infrastructure to ensure they are aligned with the regulator’s expectations.

Risk Management

We work with our clients to build an effective risk management framework, a necessary prerequisite for regulatory authorization. We provide advice on corporate governance arrangements and anti-money laundering (AML) and sanctions controls, and assist with the development of required policies and procedures. Our team of experts shall help you design and implement the systems and processes that are effective in mitigating the risks of misconduct and financial crime in line with regulatory requirements.

Training

We provide corporate governance and AML/sanctions training to increase our clients’ understanding of legal boundaries within which they can operate. The trainings aim to educate clients on the regulations and sanction-specific requirements applicable to their industries. We shall provide on-site and remote training sessions tailored to the needs of your senior management and other key personnel and ensure that they are well-prepared for their meetings and discussions with the regulator.

We help banks and other financial and virtual asset service providers comply with anti-money laundering (AML) and sanctions regulations. This is essential to protect their reputation, mitigate regulatory risks and forge partnerships with global institutions. Skyward Solutions shall assist you in setting up an effective AML/sanctions compliance program and testing the existing systems and controls, and provide training on regulations and industry-wide best practices. Our solutions include:

Policy & Implementation

We help our clients establish and maintain appropriate programs and frameworks that are aligned with their unique business models and ensure compliance with regulatory standards. Our team of experts shall review your AML/sanctions programs and help improve or develop new policies and procedures, including customer due diligence, risk assessment, suspicious transaction monitoring, and sanctions screening. We shall also assist our clients in implementing these policies and procedures by providing solutions tailored to their size and risk profile.

Testing & Validation

In the face of constantly evolving regulations and risks, institutions must have a 360-degree view of their compliance practices. We assist our clients in identifying and resolving gaps and shortcomings in the implementation of AML and sanctions programs. We validate the soundness of the design/setup of systems and controls and test the effectiveness of key risk management processes. We also provide remediation solutions to assist our clients in introducing the required enhancements.

Training

We provide bespoke, instructor-led training across a full spectrum of financial crimes and sanctions risk domains. Our training courses shall enhance our clients’ subject-matter expertise, skills, and judgment to effectively mitigate the evolving risks on a global scale. We also help clients develop or enhance institution-wide training programs to build a strong internal compliance culture and satisfy regulatory expectations.

We deliver outsourced solutions across multiple domains to supplement our clients’ efforts in building robust anti-money laundering (AML) and sanctions programs. The biggest challenge for managing compliance in the current regulatory landscape is to balance risk management with operational efficiency. Skyward Solutions shall provide relief to in-house compliance professionals facing resource constraints and allow your business to streamline compliance processes and focus on growth. Our solutions include:

Outsourced KYC

Our “Know Your Customer” (KYC) solutions involve collecting and validatiing the KYC information on customers that are complex and involve higher AML/sanctions risks, such as entities trading in goods or services across borders, high-net worth individuals or asset-holding vehicles. We shall obtain the appropriate data, information and documents to verify your customers’ economic substance, source of funds/wealth, and past/expected transactions. We make sure that the KYC information meets the regulatory requirements and your risk management goals.

Outsourced Screening

Whether as part of customer onboarding processes or on a standalone basis, we review and analyze your customer data (incl. UBOs, counterparties, securities, and vessels) to identify connections with PEPs or high-risk jurisdictions and exposure to sanctions-related risks or adverse media. Our experts follow the highest industry standard by leveraging state-of-the-art technology to research all sanctions, regulatory and enforcement lists, and thousands of reliable media sources and produce highly structured reports.

Outsourced Look-Back

We help institutions conduct robust transaction look-back reviews when required by regulators or in anticipation of regulatory examinations or other third-party testing. Look-back reviews involve identifying potentially suspicious transactions or sanctions breaches, performing investigations, and recommending actions to mitigate the identified risks. We develop a project charter for your approval, produce and examine suspicious activity alerts, and deliver a detailed analysis report.