Suzanne Dean, a member of Citizens National Bank’s Compliance Department, recently achieved the designation of being a Certified BSA/AML Professional through the Independent Community Bankers Association.

The acronym of BSA refers to the Bank Secrecy Act, while the acronym of AML refers to Anti-Money Laundering. Management of these areas is critical to the effective management of any bank’s compliance department.

BSA and AML have been a main focus of regulators and prosecutors in recent years as evidenced by the increase in criminal and regulatory penalties imposed against financial institutions for any failures to comply in this regard.

An employee of the bank since March 2007, Dean ensures that any activities covered by these regulations are identified, assessed, and reported upon, or referred to appropriate parties with required disclosures and within regulatory time frames. She also assists in training the bank’s employees in these key areas.

Dean lives in Meridian, and has four children: a daughter, Celeste, who is 19 years old, and three sons: Donnie, who is 16; Jeremy, who is 15; and Kael, who is 5.

Founded in 1888, Citizens National Bank is currently celebrating 131 years of service as an independent, Mississippi-owned community bank with locations in Meridian, Philadelphia, Quitman, Ridgeland, Madison, Flowood, Hattiesburg, Laurel, Waynesboro, Columbus, Macon, Kosciusko, Carthage, Olive Branch, and Southaven.

The bank has assets in excess of $1.4 billion and manages over $1.2 billion in its Wealth Management Division, which is committed to assisting clients with the accumulation, preservation, and transfer of wealth.