ANP
NOS Nieuws•gisteren, 22:54
Ruben Eg
editor Economics
Ruben Eg
editor Economics
De Volksbank lacks a clear system that can be used to determine whether account holders are engaged in criminal activities. For example, the state bank does not sufficiently check whether customers misuse crypto coins to launder money. It is also not clear internally at which risks the alarm bells should go off.
Earlier this month it was announced that De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB) had reprimanded de Volksbank for inadequate anti-money laundering rules. DNB announced the details today.
Everything revolves around a kind of framework in which the parent company of SNS, ASN, Regiobank and BLG Wonen must notice the risks of customers, a Systematic Integrity Risk Analysis. This must state what kind of customers the bank wants to have and how this is handled.
This is, for example, mandatory for customers who invest in cryptocurrencies or transfer money to high-risk countries. “But according to DNB, “an in-depth analysis is lacking to get a good picture of customers who may pose an increased risk”.
In addition, de Volksbank does not have a clear picture of exactly which country customers are in, which products and services they purchase and where their money comes from and where it goes. According to DNB, that customer analysis is “insufficiently thorough”. For example, it is unclear what risks de Volksbank runs with money that banks transfer from shadowy countries, and it is also unclear how many customers live in so-called high-risk countries.
Offence
The documents state that DNB already received a signal in June last year that de Volksbank was not complying with the Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Prevention Act (Wwft) due to inadequate customer control. After an investigation, the bank was told in March that, according to DNB, the law had been violated. In June this was followed by an official slap on the wrist, a so-called instruction.
It is remarkable that de Volksbank asked DNB not to disclose the designation. This could have a “negative impact on the recovery”, de Volksbank said. After this request was rejected by DNB, the bank itself announced the designation this month when it published its half-yearly figures.
Repairwork
De Volksbank ultimately did not object to the designation, a spokesperson emphasized in a response. The bank refers to statements by CEO Martijn Gribnau, who acknowledged the shortcomings and promised “to make every effort to rectify this”.
DNB must do so before 1 April next year. Only then will it be considered whether de Volksbank will also be fined.
Not only de Volksbank, but also the other three major banks (ING, ABN Amro and Rabobank) have problems preventing money laundering. For de Volksbank, however, the tap on the fingers is extra sensitive for the government because the bank is fully state-owned. ABN Amro is half that.
ECB fine
Today, the European Central Bank (ECB) announced that de Volksbank has been fined for inadequate control of transfers to regional banks in Switzerland, so-called cantonal banks. A fine of almost 4.5 million euros has been imposed for this.
De Volksbank previously reported the violation, which the bank itself says it has raised with the ECB. The bank had already made a reservation for a fine and said it has already paid it to the ECB.
2023-08-29 20:54:12
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