Glossary

Name matching is the technique screening systems use to compare names with listed names, allowing for spelling variants, different scripts and word order, and to score how close the two are.

Name screening is the checking of the names of customers, owners, directors and counterparties against sanctions, politically exposed person and other lists, both when a relationship begins and for as long as it lasts.

A national risk assessment is a country's own structured study of where it is most exposed to money laundering and terrorist financing, used to direct laws, supervision and resources.

Near miss reporting is the practice of recording events that could have caused injury, damage or loss but did not, so the causes can be fixed before a real accident happens.

Nested accounts are a correspondent arrangement in which a respondent bank lets other banks or financial firms use its account at the correspondent, so the correspondent cannot see the end users.

The net stable funding ratio compares a bank's available stable funding with the stable funding its assets and commitments require over a one-year horizon. Banks must keep the ratio at or above 100%.

Net zero means cutting greenhouse gas emissions as far as possible and balancing any that remain with an equal amount of permanent removals, so that net additions to the atmosphere come to zero.

A net zero transition plan is a published roadmap showing how an organisation will cut its emissions to meet its climate targets, with timelines, actions, funding and who is accountable.

NIS2 is the European Union directive that sets minimum cybersecurity duties for operators in sectors such as energy, transport, health and digital services, including management accountability and incident reporting to authorities.

A new product approval process is the set of checks a firm completes before launching a new product, service, market or major change, so that risks, controls and obligations are assessed and signed off first.

The NIST AI Risk Management Framework is voluntary US guidance, published in 2023, that helps organisations identify, assess and manage the risks of AI systems throughout their lifecycle.

The NIST Cybersecurity Framework is a voluntary guide from the US standards body NIST that groups cyber risk activities into functions such as Identify, Protect, Detect, Respond and Recover, so any organisation can plan and measure its security.

The nomination and remuneration committee is a board committee that proposes who joins and leaves the board and senior management and recommends how directors and executives are paid. Some firms split it into two.

Nominee directors and shareholders are people who hold a position or shares in a company in their own name while acting for the real owner, who stays hidden from the public record.

A non-executive director sits on the board but does not work in the company's management. The role is to challenge executives, oversee performance and risk, and bring outside experience.

Non-face-to-face onboarding is the opening of a customer relationship without meeting the customer in person, usually through an app, website or video call, which calls for extra care in proving identity.

An NFFE is a non-US entity that sits outside the financial sector, such as a trading or manufacturing company, which is classed as active or passive for tax reporting under FATCA and CRS.

A non-performing asset is a loan or advance on which interest or principal has stayed unpaid beyond a set number of days. Lenders then stop counting the interest as income and set aside provisions against it.

NPO abuse is the exploitation of charities and similar non-profit bodies by criminals or terrorist groups, to raise or move funds, support operations, or hide the real source and use of money.

Not-for-profit governance is how charities, trusts, foundations and other non-profit bodies are directed and overseen so they use funds and assets for their stated public purpose and stay within the law.