FCA: Financial Crime: analysis of firms’ 2017-2020 REP-CRIM data

Ensuring the firms the FCA regulates are effective in preventing financial crime through sound controls is a key priority for the FCA. This is important as the size and global nature of the UK financial industry mean that both money laundering, and the criminality that creates the need to launder money, present significant risks to the UK. A key approach of the FCA, as set out in its business plan, is collaboration and partnering with others, such as government and other authorities, including law enforcement, to achieve more in raising standards across the regulated sector. The FCA supervises approximately 22,000 firms against the requirements in the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017 (MLRs). These firms vary in business activity, size and complexity. Since 2017 the FCA have required banks, building societies, mortgage lenders and certain other type of firms as defined under SUP 16.23 of the FCA Handbook to provide an annual financial crime data return (REP-CRIM). The FCA uses this data to complement our risk-based financial crime supervision. This publication provides analysis of the REP-CRIM submissions for the 3 reporting periods between 2017-2020. For these periods we received a total of 5,685 REP-CRIM submissions from over 2,300 different firms. This analysis aims to provide Money Laundering Reporting Officers and industry practitioners insights on trends and developments, which should help inform the arrangements and risks of their respective firms.