UK regulators warn Deutsche Bank on compliance

FRANKFURT: British regulators have criticized Deutsche Bank’s anti-money laundering and compliance controls, warning that the bank’s access to the UK market was at risk after withdrawal from the European Union, the Financial Times reported on Monday.

The Financial Times, citing unnamed people familiar with the matter, reported that the Bank of England was requiring monthly, rather than quarterly, updates from Deutsche.

Deutsche Bank declined to comment on its interaction with regulators but said in an emailed statement: “We have tripled the number of staff” combating financial crime since 2015.

“Risk and controls are an area of on-going focus for all financial institutions. We continue to invest heavily in these areas,” the bank said.

The Financial Conduct Authority and Bank of England did not immediately respond to requests for comment outside of normal business hours.

Over recent years, Deutsche Bank has faced mounting regulatory scrutiny from authorities in the United States, Germany and elsewhere over lapses in anti-money laundering and other controls.

Though Deutsche was warned about losing access to the UK market, “this outcome is still a remote possibility”, the FT said in its report citing the unnamed people.

In a recent compliance breach, Deutsche Bank on Jan. 16 sent data relating to 12,500 transactions of 500 clients to Amazon, the FT reported, but the bank was tardy in reporting the breach to affected clients and regulators.