Today, the FCA fined Commerzbank’s London branch £37,805,400.

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The fine came as a result of an early settlement resolution between the bank and the FCA, which qualified Commerzbank for a 30% discount on the headline fine of £54,007,800. The fine resulted from consistent failures in putting in place adequate anti-money laundering (AML) systems between October 2012 and September 2017.

FCA Executive Director of Enforcement and Market Oversight, Mark Steward, said:

‘Commerzbank London’s failings over several years created a significant risk that financial and other crime might be undetected. Firms should recognise that AML controls are vitally important to the integrity of the UK financial system.’

Commerzbank’s failings related to a failings in due diligence, know your customer (KYC) checks and weak automated transaction monitoring.

See the full FCA ‘Final Notice’ here: https://www.fca.org.uk/publication/final-notices/commerzbank-ag-2020.pdf