Thomson Reuters TransWatch, part of the Thomson Reuters Accelus portfolio of solutions, ultimately assist First NZ Capital in complying with new Anti-Money Laundering and Counter Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) obligations in New Zealand. This announcement supports Thomson Reuters commitment to bringing leading regulatory and compliance intelligence and solutions to the global financial community.

New Zealand's Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act 2009 introduced a broad risk-based framework for a major overhaul of the country's AML regime. The Act comes into force on 30 June 2013 and firms in New Zealand are required to be fully compliant by this date. As a result, firms are now looking to their internal systems and controls to ensure that they are able to detect financial crime including money laundering, terrorist financing as well as financial fraud.

Thomson Reuters TransWatch has a comprehensive library of rules specifically built to assist financial institutions in the identification of suspicious behavior. The solution will enable firms to recognize, identify and investigate patterns of behavior that are abnormal or unusual as well as distinguishing between behavior that is suspicious, as opposed to simply unusual. It is currently trusted by more than 75 financial institutions globally and provides them with a powerful detection, inspection and resolution tool to support their transaction monitoring obligations. Thomson Reuters TransWatch is powered by Thomson Reuters World-Check, of which First NZ Capital is an existing user, the leading standard in providing information that profiles entities and individuals that can be used in the due diligence processes of the international business community.

"With Thomson Reuters TransWatch we have taken a crucial step in meeting our future legal obligations and continuing to safeguard our business and reputation by meeting the AML/CFT monitoring needs of our business," said Richard Bodman, managing director, head of finance and operations, First NZ Capital. "The data screening against World-Check is also proven and enables us to efficiently comply with aspects of client screening including of Politically Exposed Persons (PEP's) and against sanctions lists."

"With the increased regulatory focus on AML and counter-terrorist practices, it is vital for our customers to be able to protect their businesses, protect their reputation and to respond appropriately to the risks presented to their business operations," said Leas Bachatene, vice president and managing director for Asia Pacific, Governance, Risk and Compliance, Thomson Reuters. "Thomson Reuters enables firms to do this by leveraging our extensive experience to help manage their risk exposure and accelerate their business at every step. We are committed to supporting organizations in New Zealand at this crucial time as new AML legislation comes into effect"