Fight against money laundering: the key role of financial institutions
4 April 2025 - 3 min Reading time
Brochure providing an overview of efforts, challenges and recommendations to strengthen the resilience of financial institutions.
In the context of the 2 April 2025 hearing in the House of Representatives on “The evaluation of the implementation of anti-money laundering legislation and the role of banks in it”, Febelfin has prepared a brochure providing an overview of the commitments and responsibilities of financial institutions in this area.
Banks play a central role in preventing money laundering by identifying risks, monitoring transactions and reporting suspicious activity. In 2023, for instance, banks were responsible for 81% of all reported files from CTIF-CFI towards judicial authorities. Yet challenges remain, despite tightened controls and massive investments.
This brochure explains the following aspects:
- Banks' legal obligations: regulatory compliance, Know Your Customer (KYC) processes, Know Your Transaction (KYT) monitoring, etc.
- Efforts and investments made:
- Strengthening of specialised teams: in recent years, the number of staff dedicated to anti-money laundering has increased by 40%;
- Huge IT investments: between 2020 and 2024, banks spend €193 million on improving their anti-money laundering systems. In 2024 alone, these investments amounted to around €48.2 million, almost five times more than in 2020;
- Closer cooperation with regulators and agencies fighting financial crime. ...
- Barriers: restrictions on information sharing, complexity of regulatory obligations and dealing with sometimes conflicting societal expectations.
- Recommendations for a more effective fight against money laundering:
- Simplify information exchange between financial institutions and authorities by improving the legal framework for these interactions;
- Adapt the legislative framework: increase legal certainty related to the gatekeeper role and reduce pressure due to the risk of sanctions;
- Develop reliable databases and optimise access to existing registers;
- Simplify administrative obligations, in particular regarding the identification of beneficial owners (UBOs).
In this brochure, you will discover how banks, as guardians of the financial system, are constantly adapting their measures to better combat criminal financial circuits and contribute to a safer and more transparent economy. However, banks cannot fight this battle alone. To fulfil their role as gatekeepers, they need clear political support and a stable legal framework. Therefore, they call for more cooperation between all players involved, both public and private, so that together we can fight money laundering more effectively. Only together can we step up the fight.
