Jurisdiction Risk Matrix

What is inside

The matrix classifies 255 countries and territories into Low, Medium, High Risk, Blacklist and Manual Review. The workbook ships with a README, a lookup sheet, a dashboard, the full matrix, source data, a configuration sheet, a source register, a change log and the methodology in short form.

The guide explains how the model decides, why each indicator is there, how the weights were set, and what a supervisor will ask when you present it.

How the 255 jurisdictions fall out

Blacklist		3
High Risk		62
Medium Risk		80
Low Risk		40
Manual Review		70

Manual Review is not a gap in the data but a decision: where the sources are too thin, the model refuses to rate Low and hands the question to the compliance function.

What an answer looks like

One row per category, as the file rates them today. The answer sits next to the name and the rule that produced it sits beside the answer: some jurisdictions are set by a list, others by the index. The workings stay further along the same row.

Who needs it

Compliance officers who need a defensible country-risk rating for onboarding, periodic review, transaction monitoring calibration and product eligibility, and who would rather start from a documented model than from a blank sheet.

How the model decides

Classification is strictly hierarchical: a tier only runs when the tier above it has not fired.

What it does not do

It does not screen names. Sanctions and PEP screening remain separate mandatory controls. It does not replace judgement: the model gives a defensible starting point, the Compliance function owns the final rating. It does not stay current by itself, because lists move. It is not legal advice.

The home-jurisdiction sanctions column ships empty on purpose. A template cannot assume whose law binds you, and the guide explains how to fill it.