GRC Report Staff

AFM Sees Persistent Gap Between Policy & Practice

A recurring theme runs through the Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets' 2025 SREP Market Overview. Firms have spent considerable effort building policies, documenting processes and establishing governance structures. The harder part is making sure those things function as intended once they leave the page.

New Zealand Regulator Relieves Health & Life Insurers of Climate Reporting Obligations Pending Law Change

The Financial Markets Authority said it will adopt a "no action" approach for insurers expected to be removed from New Zealand's climate-related disclosures regime, allowing them to forgo climate statement lodgements while Parliament considers amendments to the law. The decision follows a recent government announcement that health and life insurers will be excluded from the regime and will no longer be required to produce annual climate statements once the legislation is enacted.

Spanish Competition Authority Investigates Major Banks Over Mortgage Rate Comments

Spain’s competition watchdog has opened a formal investigation into six of the country’s largest banks over concerns that public comments by senior executives may have unlawfully signaled future business strategy to competitors.

ESMA Balances Expanding Mandate With Push for Simpler Regulation

The European Securities and Markets Authority said its work in 2025 centered on strengthening supervision, reducing unnecessary regulatory burdens and supporting innovation across the European Union’s financial markets, as the bloc continued work on its Savings and Investments Union agenda.

Swedish Regulator Fines Ikano Bank €12.8 Million for Anti-Money Laundering Failures

Ikano Bank's anti-money laundering problems did not begin with customer due diligence. According to Sweden's financial regulator, they began earlier with the bank's understanding of its own risks. The Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority, Finansinspektionen (FI), has issued the bank a formal remark and imposed an administrative fine of approximately €12.8 million (SEK 140 million) after finding shortcomings in its anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing framework.

APRA Warns Financial Firms to Strengthen Defenses Against Geopolitical Shocks

Australia's financial institutions are not sufficiently prepared for the operational and financial consequences of geopolitical disruption, according to a warning issued Wednesday by the country's prudential regulator. The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority has written to banks, insurers and superannuation funds outlining what it calls minimum expectations for readiness against geopolitical shocks, citing concerns that many firms have yet to translate growing awareness of geopolitical risks into practical risk management and crisis preparedness.

AI Compresses the Cybersecurity Timeline, Dutch Regulator Warns

The window between discovering a software vulnerability and seeing it exploited is shrinking, according to the Dutch financial markets regulator, which is urging organizations to strengthen core cybersecurity practices as advanced artificial intelligence accelerates the pace and sophistication of cyberattacks.