Guidelines for a risk‑based analysis of NPOs and mutual societies: a balanced and inclusive approach
28 January 2026 - 3 min Reading time
Febelfin, in collaboration with Unisoc and the Impact Coalition, is publishing guidelines regarding non-profit organisations (NPOs) and mutual societies. The aim of this document is to clarify the obligations related to anti–money laundering (AML) and counter‑terrorist financing (CTF), which apply to financial institutions, and to identify the information and documents needed for an accurate and proportionate risk assessment.
The non-profit sector plays an essential role in the Belgian economy and society. To ensure that these organisations have full access to banking services while preventing any risk of misuse, cooperation between the financial sector and non-profit organisations is crucial.
These guidelines, jointly developed with Unisoc and the Impact Coalition, pursue a threefold objective:
- to clarify the legal AML/CFT obligations that financial institutions must comply with;
- to provide NPOs with an explanatory framework, helping them better understand expectations regarding transparency, governance, and documentation;
- to offer financial institutions a framework that can enrich their assessment procedures for NPOs.
The document also emphasizes the importance of striking a balance between appropriate risk management and financial inclusion. NPOs and mutual societies must have access to the banking services essential for their activities, and a proportional, risk‑based approach is crucial to ensure their social mission is not unnecessarily hindered.
