The Crédit Agricole du Languedoc, one of the 39 regional funds of the mutual bank, received a reprimand and a fine of 1.5 million euros on December 1 from the ACPR, the regulator of the banking sector.
This decision, which the ACPR (1) has chosen to make public, is the consequence of shortcomings in the fight against money laundering and the financing of terrorism. This is, in fact, an obligation for credit institutions, which must in particular report Tracfin, a cell of the Ministry of the Economy, any suspicious transaction.
Tracfin: why do banks monitor your bank accounts?
The Crédit Agricole du Languedoc notably failed in monitoring and analyzing the operations of its customers. (…) The Commission [des sanctions de l’ACPR, ndlr] repeatedly underlined the need for a device that would allow identify atypical operations in order to proceed, if necessary, with their reinforced examination or a declaration of suspicion Tracfin, details the press release published by the ACPR. In particular, she insisted on the importance of scenarios linking a client’s income and his operations.
The regulator also points to several specific breaches of the obligations in terms of knowing your customers – in particular their income and their assets. [et] a few enhanced examination or Tracfin declaration faults.
Old breaches and dj signals
Crédit Agricole du Languedoc, whose head office is in Lattes, near Montpellier, operates in four departments (Aude, Gard, Hérault and Lozre). Its market share, above 30%, places it at the forefront of credit institutions in these departments, details the decision.
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CA Languedoc’s inertia, but also its membership of a large group, worked against it: (…) This failure was all the more open to criticism since the applicable provisions are old and have been made explicit for a long time and since the [CA Languedoc] has, because of its membership of the Crdit Agricole Group, significant human, technical and financial resources.
(1) Prudential supervision and resolution authority