According to the city watchdog, Metro Bank failed to properly monitor £51 billion in transactions for potential money laundering and financial crime.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has fined the bank £16.7 million for shortcomings in its anti-money laundering controls. The regulator reported that Metro Bank lacked adequate systems to monitor over 60 million transactions over a four-year period, amounting to £51 billion in unmonitored activity.
The FCA noted that junior staff flagged concerns about data issues twice following the implementation of the monitoring system in 2016, but the problems were not fully resolved until 2020.
Metro Bank introduced automated monitoring for financial crime in June 2016, but the system malfunctioned. A critical error in data processing meant that transactions conducted on the same day an account was opened—and subsequent transactions until the account data was updated—were not properly monitored.
The initial fine of £23.8 million was reduced by 30% to £16.7 million after Metro Bank agreed to settle the case.
Therese Chambers, joint executive director of enforcement and market oversight at the FCA, stated: “Metro’s failings created a vulnerability in our defence against financial crime. These issues persisted for far too long.”
Metro Bank acknowledged the findings and stated it had fully cooperated with the FCA. The bank confirmed that it has since addressed the system failures and made significant improvements to its transaction monitoring processes.
