Public Bank committed to fighting financial crimes

PETALING JAYA: Public Bank Bhd (PBB) has said it views seriously the need to combat financial crimes and to comply with all applicable legal, regulatory and supervisory requirements to safeguard against threats to its customers and the banking system.

In a statement, CEO and managing director Tan Sri Tay Ah Lek said the bank has always adopted a zero tolerance approach towards money laundering and terrorism financing.

“Monitoring and reporting of suspicious transactions are part of obligations under AML/CFT frameworks. Public Bank is subjected to strict arrangements in protecting the confidentiality and security of suspicious transaction reporting within secured IT system environment and information controls,” he said.

The statement came after news reports of US Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) document leaks where numerous banks, including PBB, were linked to “suspicious” transactions flagged between 2010 and 2016.

Tay said PBB has invested substantially in its systems’ capabilities to detect and report suspicious transactions to the authorities and has allocated significant resources to strengthening and maintaining internal controls towards this purpose.

“We remain committed in the efforts to combat financial crimes and will cooperate with the authorities to maintain the integrity of the financial system,” he added.