Summary
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) fined Nationwide £44 million for not having effective systems to detect financial crime from 2016 to 2021. Nationwide acknowledged its shortcomings and stated it's improved its systems since 2021. The FCA highlighted a case where £26 million in fraudulent payments were missed by the building society’s monitoring systems.
Key Facts
- Nationwide was fined £44 million for inadequate financial crime controls between 2016 and 2021.
- The FCA identified Nationwide's systems as ineffective for assessing risk and monitoring customer transactions.
- A notable case involved £26 million in fraudulent furlough payments deposited into a single account over eight days.
- Nationwide cooperated with the investigation and has since strengthened its crime control systems.
- During the period examined, Nationwide did not offer business accounts, but some personal accounts were used for business, escaping proper monitoring.
- £27.3 million in total fraudulent payments were made, with most funds recovered by tax authorities.
- The FCA criticized Nationwide for delayed actions in addressing system weaknesses.
- Nationwide acknowledged the failures and committed to preventing financial crime in the future, stating that no customer losses occurred.
