OP Financial Group takes financial crime prevention very seriously. For many years, the Group has focused on developing its processes, systems, ways of working and internal control.
In recent years, OP Financial Group has multiplied its ICT and HR investments related to financial crime prevention. At the moment, almost 500 specialists work in the field of financial crime prevention in OP Financial Group’s central cooperative. In addition, the personnel of OP cooperative banks plays a key role in maintaining customer information and identifying suspicious transactions. All employees of OP Financial Group participate regularly in training sessions on detecting and reporting unusual transactions.
Authorities supervise banks’ operations
Supervision of the largest European banking groups was transferred to the European Central Bank (ECB) after the financial crisis. In addition, the Finnish Financial Supervisory Authority (FIN-FSA) is in charge of supervision on a national level.
Supervision involves continuous, daily interaction between the bank and the supervisor. Besides continuous supervision, the ECB and the FIN-FSA make bank-specific inspections. For example, in 2022, the FIN-FSA performed an audit on anti-money laundering as part of its normal supervisory and audit activities. The audit covered OP Corporate Bank plc and two OP cooperative banks, Etelä-Karjalan Osuuspankki and Turun Seudun Osuuspankki.
In its audit, the FIN-FSA observed no indications of money laundering but commented that there is room for improvement in the processes of OP Financial Group. The Group has already taken corrective measures based on the supervisor’s comments, and will continue to do so until all observations have been addressed.