On 31 August 2016, the Dutch Central Bank (De Nederlandsche Bank, DNB) published a news item in which it discusses the preliminary results of an investigation it launched earlier this year into banks’ transaction monitoring processes. According to DNB, many banks will need to improve their transaction monitoring processes.
The purpose of transaction monitoring processes is to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing. According to DNB, maintaining an efficient transaction monitoring process allows financial institutions to detect in a timely manner unusual transaction patterns and trades. DNB indicates that there is in particular room for improvement when it comes to taking into account the risk profile and risk classification of clients in detecting unusual transactions. In addition, DNB notes that the compliance function of banks is not always sufficiently involved in the assessment of alerts.
View DNB’s news item on transaction monitoring (Dutch only), 31 August 2016.