Daily Compliance Brief — FATF Updates High-Risk Jurisdictions List

February 16, 2026

Signal

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has published updates to its lists of jurisdictions subject to increased monitoring and high-risk jurisdictions. The changes follow its latest plenary discussions and reflect revised assessments of strategic AML/CFT deficiencies and remediation progress.

Adjustments to these lists directly influence how financial institutions calibrate country risk, correspondent banking exposure, and cross-border transaction controls. Even where changes are limited, the reaffirmation of monitoring status signals continued supervisory focus on effectiveness and implementation gaps.

Why it matters

For compliance teams, any FATF listing update requires immediate reassessment of country risk ratings, onboarding controls, and enhanced due diligence triggers. Policies tied to FATF status must be reviewed to ensure automatic control escalation operates as designed.

Institutions should evaluate exposure across customer portfolios, correspondent relationships, and trade finance flows linked to affected jurisdictions. Monitoring scenarios, escalation thresholds, and reporting protocols may require recalibration to align with updated risk classifications and supervisory expectations.