UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has imposed a fine of £63.9m ($85.16m) on banking giant HSBC for shortcomings in its anti-money laundering processes.

The FCA has stated that three key parts of the bank’s automated transaction monitoring systems had “serious weaknesses” between 31 March 2010 to 31 March 2018.

Go deeper with GlobalData

Premium Insights

The gold standard of business intelligence.

Find out more

Related Company Profiles

View all

HSBC failed to adequately monitor the ‘scenarios used to identify indicators of money laundering or terrorist financing covered relevant risks until 2014’, and carry out ‘risk assessments for new scenarios after 2016.’

The lender failed to test and update the system’s parameters used to identify suspicious transactions, the FCA said.

HSBC has also been fined for not checking the accuracy and completeness of the data being fed into the system.

Notably, the lender did not dispute FCA’s findings and qualified for a 30% discount on a £91.35m fine.

How well do you really know your competitors?

Access the most comprehensive Company Profiles on the market, powered by GlobalData. Save hours of research. Gain competitive edge.

Company Profile – free sample

Thank you!

Your download email will arrive shortly

Not ready to buy yet? Download a free sample

We are confident about the unique quality of our Company Profiles. However, we want you to make the most beneficial decision for your business, so we offer a free sample that you can download by submitting the below form

By GlobalData
Visit our Privacy Policy for more information about our services, how we may use, process and share your personal data, including information of your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications. Our services are intended for corporate subscribers and you warrant that the email address submitted is your corporate email address.

FCA executive director of enforcement and market oversight Mark Steward said: “HSBC’s transaction monitoring systems were not effective for a prolonged period despite the issue being highlighted on numerous occasions.

“These failings are unacceptable and exposed the bank and community to avoidable risks, especially as the remediation took such a long time.”

HSBC spokesperson said: “We are pleased to resolve this matter, which relates to HSBC’s legacy anti-money laundering systems and controls in the UK.

“HSBC is deeply committed to combating financial crime and protecting the integrity of the global financial system.”

Earlier this week, NatWest was fined £264.7m for failing to prevent money laundering by its UK incorporated customer Fowler Oldfield.