Finanstilsynet, the Norwegian financial regulator, has criticised DNB, the country's largest bank by market cap, for inadequate AML controls that it detected during an inspection late last year. Problems were especially acute at the firm's private banking unit.

The revelations are from a report issued this week. Vidar Korsberg Dalsbø, a spokesman for the bank, told Compliance Matters: "We take the criticism from Finanstilsynet (the Financial Supervisory Authority of Norway) very seriously. At the same time, we also know that this is an area where our work will never be quite finished. We must continually develop our methods and systems. One of the things we are now doing is to invest further in IT and artificial intelligence."

The main criticism that the regulator levelled at the bank was that it had been too tardy in responding to some problems revealed by an earlier review in 2016. Its shortcomings were especially pronounced in the areas of electronic transaction tracking and risk assessments. No actual money laundering has been uncovered. The regulator plans to visit the private banking part of the firm again shortly.

Vidar Korsberg Dalsbø continued: "In DNB, more than 400 people are working to prevent financial crime, and each year we report a large number of cases to the Norwegian National Authority for Investigation and Prosecution of Economic and Environmental Crime. This is information that contributes to solving financial crime cases – and to convictions in court.

"Finanstilsynet’s report includes some criticism of DNB, but no sanctions have been imposed, and no specific cases of money laundering are mentioned in the report. Succeeding in the fight against money laundering and financing of terrorism requires good cooperation between the financial services industry, the police and other authorities. DNB is – and will continue to be – a driving force for this type of co-operation."