The FCA levied the fine following Metro Bank’s failure to adequately monitor over 60 million transactions, valued at more than £51bn, for money laundering risks between June 2016 and December 2020.
A faulty transaction monitoring system, implemented in 2016, left gaps in monitoring transactions occurring on the day of account opening and in the initial period of account activity due to data integration errors.
Concerns raised by junior staff in 2017 and 2018 about unmonitored transactions did not lead to immediate corrective actions.
Although Metro implemented a fix in July 2019, a consistent verification process to check the accuracy of transaction monitoring wasn’t in place until December 2020—over four years after the system’s launch.
Therese Chambers, joint executive director of enforcement and market oversight at the FCA, said: “Metro’s failings risked a gap being left in our defence against the criminal misuse of our financial system. Those failings went on for too long.”
Since identifying the issue in April 2019, Metro Bank has implemented remedial measures to enhance its transaction monitoring and ensure compliance. The FCA continues to oversee firms to ensure effective systems are in place to mitigate financial crime risks.
