TD Bank’s takeover of First Horizon reportedly scuppered by AML concerns
TD Bank’s US$13.4 billion takeover of US regional bank First Horizon collapsed over regulators’ concerns about the Canadian lender’s anti-money laundering (AML) practices, according to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ). On May 4 2023, TD Bank informed First Horizon that it did not have a…
IMF publishes new fact sheet on its role in AML/CFT efforts
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has published a new fact sheet on its work helping shape policies on anti-money laundering (AML) combatting the financing of terrorism (CFT) and counter-proliferation financing internationally and within its members’ national frameworks. The fact sheet, The IMF and the fight…
London-based GTBank’s ‘particularly egregious’ conduct and serious AML weaknesses lead to US$9.4 million fine
The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has fined Guaranty Trust Bank UK (GT Bank) £7.7 million (US$9.4 million) for serious weaknesses in its anti-money laundering (AML) systems and controls between October 2014 and July 2019. The bank provides export, import, standby and back-to-back letters of…
Challenges, priorities and trends in AML in Asia Pacific revealed in new report
NICE Actimize and Regulation Asia have published their AML Tech Barometer 2023 report to explore anti-money laundering (AML) and fraud trends based on survey and interview data collected from 289 practitioners in the Asia Pacific region. In the wake of the geopolitical and economic instability…
Crown dependencies put plans for public beneficial ownership register on hold
The crown dependencies of the Isle of Man, Guernsey and Jersey have put on hold their plans to open up their beneficial ownership registries to the public. The three territories, that are not part of the UK but are self-governing possessions of the British Crown,…
Santander fined £108 million by UK regulator for repeated AML failures
The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has fined Santander UK nearly £108 million (US$133 million) for repeated anti-money laundering (AML) failures. The regulator of financial services firms and financial markets in the UK says it found “serious and persistent gaps” in the bank’s AML controls…
Paris launches bid to host European anti-money laundering authority
Paris has officially announced its bid to host the new European Anti-Money Laundering Authority (AMLA) and its staff. The French capital is already home to the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and the European Banking Authority (EBA), and the city’s bid says that these are…
Banks invested in digital transformation, but spending 70 per cent of AML budgets on labour says LexisNexis study
Banks in the UK are spending £30 billion (US$34 billion) annually complying with anti-money laundering (AML) regulation, with three-quarters of budgets spent on people and only a quarter spent on technology according to a survey commissioned and published by LexisNexis Risk Solutions The study, Tech Blockers 2022,…
Malta-based bank fined for AML/CFT shortcomings
A Malta-based bank owned by a Dutch billionaire has been fined by Malta’s Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit (FIAU) for failings in its anti-money laundering and counter financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) processes. Novum Bank, owned by Dutch entrepreneur Marcel Boekhoorn, has been ordered to pay a…
Germany announces new authority in major shake-up of anti-money laundering and sanctions control efforts
Germany plans to create a national financial crime authority with the aim of effectively fighting white-collar crime, vigorously enforcing sanctions and overcoming its reputation as a money-laundering hub. A central element of the plan is to bundle the most important anti-money laundering and sanctions control…
