Metro Bank has been fined £16.6m by the FCA for failing to monitor money laundering
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has fined Metro Bank £16.6 million for failing to implement adequate systems to monitor the risk of money laundering, affecting more than 60 million transactions worth more than £51 billion.
The lapses, which took place between June 2016 and December 2020, reveal serious deficiencies in Metro’s financial crime control.
Metro Bank introduced automated transaction monitoring in June 2016, but due to data entry errors, the system failed to flag same-day transactions for account openings and other transactions until account records were updated. Concerns raised by junior staff in 2017 and 2018 were not addressed, delaying the identification of the issue.
The bank implemented a partial fix in July 2019, but the verification process did not change until December 2020—more than four years after the monitoring system was introduced. In response to these issues, Metro Bank has since revised its systems to correct deficiencies in its monitoring system.
Therese Chambers, joint senior director of compliance and market supervision at the FCA, highlighted the risks posed by Metro Bank’s long-term oversight gap. “Metro’s failure risks leaving a gap in our defenses against the misuse of our financial system. That failure can continue for a very long time,” said Chambers.
Metro Bank’s fine serves as a reminder of the need for stronger measures to curb financial crime, as the FCA continues to prioritize enforcement against inadequate anti-money laundering controls.
