HSBC fined £63.94m by FCA for anti-money laundering failings

17th Dec 2021 07:50

(Sharecast News) - British multinational bank HSBC has been fined £63.94m by the Financial Conduct Authority for failings in its anti-money laundering processes.
Although the watchdog acknowledged that HSBC used automated processes to monitor transactions as part of an effort to identify possible financial crime, the FCA said three key parts of the bank's transaction monitoring systems displayed serious weaknesses over a period of eight years from March 2010 to March 2018.

The FCA said HSBC's measures had actually failed to consider all relevant risks until 2014, including appropriately testing and updating parameters within the systems that were used to determine whether a transaction was potentially suspicious, and that the firm had also failed to carry out timely risk assessments for new suspicious transactions until after 2016.

HSBC chose not to dispute the FCA's findings and has agreed to settle at the earliest possible opportunity, meaning it qualified for a 30% discount on the watchdog's originally issued £91.35m penalty.

The fine makes HSBS the first financial institution to face criminal prosecution by the FCA under anti-money laundering laws in the UK.