Germany's financial regulator imposed new deadlines on Deutsche Bank to remedy deficiencies in data-processing systems used for anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing controls. BaFin said the notice became final and binding on 6 October. Deutsche Bank said it remained committed to complying with the order.
The action updates earlier BaFin orders issued in April 2021 and November 2023. Those measures required the bank to improve systems used to identify suspicious business relationships and payment transactions. BaFin said changes in technical requirements and a reorganisation of the monitoring system made revised deadlines necessary in some cases.
ORDER TARGETS TRANSACTION-MONITORING INFRASTRUCTURE
The systems covered by the order support transaction monitoring required under Germany's Banking Act and Money Laundering Act. Banks use them to detect activity that may require a report to the Financial Intelligence Unit. BaFin said such systems must be updated continuously so they remain reliable.
The regulator did not publish the individual deadlines or describe each outstanding technical deficiency in its notice. Its action therefore extends a supervisory process that has already spanned several years rather than announcing a separate new breach. Reuters reported that the bank characterised the measure as connected to the previous 2021 and 2023 orders.
COMPLIANCE DELIVERY REMAINS THE TEST
Deutsche Bank has worked to strengthen controls after a series of compliance problems, making execution of the revised timetable important for its wider remediation programme. The bank's response acknowledged the binding order without disputing the regulator's description. No financial penalty was disclosed with the updated deadlines.
The immediate question is whether the reconfigured monitoring infrastructure can meet BaFin's functional and legal requirements within the revised timetable. Progress will depend on reliable data, appropriately calibrated alerts and timely escalation of suspicious activity. Further BaFin measures or bank disclosures would provide the next public evidence on completion.