GRC Report Staff

HSBC Bank has been ordered to pay a penalty of approximately $22.8 million (AUD $35 million) after admitting to serious failures in its handling of scam-related customer losses, in what Australian regulators described as one of the first enforcement actions of its kind globally. The penalty was imposed by the Federal Court on June 18 following proceedings brought by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).

When Sweden's financial regulator published its latest assessment of money laundering, terrorist financing and sanctions risks on Thursday, the sectors drawing the most scrutiny were largely the same ones that appeared in previous editions, including banks, international payment services and crypto-assets.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.