The US accounts for nearly 44 percent of all global regulatory anti-money laundering (AML) and know-your-customer (KYC) fines, yet almost 91 percent of the total value ($23.52 billion), according to Fenergo, a client lifecycle management solutions firm.
The findings are part of a study carried out by Fenergo detailing the global fines activity of regional and in-country regulators over the past 10 years. It also highlights how regulators have approached breaches from foreign versus domestic financial institutions.
A staggering $26 billion in fines has been imposed for non-compliance with AML, KYC and sanctions regulations in the last decade, Fenergo found.
Fenergo said: “The US Department of Justice is the most punitive regulator in the world when it comes to imposing financial penalties for non-compliance”, levying half of the global AML/sanctions fines amount, nearly $14 billion.
This was followed by the New York Department of Financial Services imposing financial penalties totalling $3.6 billion.
US regulators have hit foreign banks hard, imposing fines on European banks nearly five times more than they imposed against US banks.
Europe has imposed 83 fines, totalling $1.7 billion, the majority being imposed by the UK‘s Financial Conduct Authority.
While in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region, Fenergo found regulators have levied 79 fines worth almost $609 million, commencing in 2011.
The study found the Middle East still lags behind other regions for financial enforcement, recording a total of $9.5 million in the last 10 years.
Globally, Fenergo found 2015 was the most punitive year for fines, with $11.52 billion levied against banks, while the figure of $8.9 billion was the highest single fine ever levied against a bank by one regulator.
Fenergo further found the Nordics was the only region that fined their own domestic banks more than international banks.
The data in the form of an interactive infographic available on Fenergo’s website is based on various sources, including regulatory and news outlets providing insight into fines by region, country, regulator and by types of fines imposed.
Commenting on the findings, Laura Glynn, director of global regulatory compliance at Fenergo, said: “Up until now, the focus of regulators had been on the US and European markets. However, we are now witnessing regulators in APAC and the Middle East markets becoming more proactive in their supervisory efforts.”
Marc Murphy, Fenergo’s CEO, commented: “As a firm dedicated to providing the financial industry with client onboarding and regulatory compliance solutions, Fenergo continuously captures and maintains this data as part of our day-to-day business.”
He added: “It is our experience and deep understanding of global financial regulations that permits us to extrapolate global trends, allowing us to offer this additional insight to our clients.”
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