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Compliance Training for Banks in Iceland: A Must-Have for Financial Institutions

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In a move to ensure compliance with financial regulations, Icelandic banks are taking proactive measures to prevent rule breaches and maintain transparency.

Arion Bank’s Approach to Compliance

Arion Bank, one of the largest banks in Iceland, has implemented an independent control function known as Compliance, which reports directly to the CEO. The Compliance Officer at Arion Bank is Hákon Már Pétursson, who works closely with the Board of Directors to ensure that the bank’s activities comply with laws and regulations.

Preventing Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing

The Compliance department’s main role is to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing by coordinating measures against these crimes. Arion Bank provides its employees with comprehensive training on compliance issues, including a monitoring and training schedule approved by the Board Risk Committee. The bank also submits quarterly reports to the committee on its compliance activities.

Regulatory Fines

In 2020, Arion Bank was fined ISK 87.7 million by the Financial Supervisory Authority of the Central Bank of Iceland for violating Article 122 (1) of the Securities Transactions Act No. 108/2007. The fine was imposed after an online media outlet published a report on redundancies at the bank without waiting for the planned organizational changes to take effect.

Legal Action

Arion Bank has taken legal action to annul the decision and rejects the conclusion reached by the FSA. Information on the main legal cases relating to Arion Bank can be found in the notes to the annual financial statement.

Policy Against Financial Crime

The bank’s policy is to combat money laundering and other financial crimes, and it has adopted a policy on measures against financial crime, which can be viewed on its website. In 2020, Arion Bank submitted more than 700 reports of suspicion of money laundering or terrorist financing to the Financial Intelligence Unit of the Icelandic Police.

Disclosure Practices

As an issuer of publicly traded securities, Arion Bank is required to disclose information to regulatory authorities and stock exchanges. In 2020, there were no criticisms of the bank’s disclosure practices, except for the aforementioned administrative fine.

Data Protection

Arion Bank also takes data protection seriously, ensuring that personal data is processed legally, fairly, and transparently in line with the Data Protection Act and the General Data Protection Regulation. The bank has adopted a data protection policy, which can be viewed on its website.

Incidents of Breach of Data Protection

In 2020, Arion Bank received one legitimate complaint concerning a breach of data protection from a third party. No complaints were received from the Data Protection Authority. The bank reported 72 incidents to the authority where there was a breach of confidentiality. While there was a significant risk to an individual’s rights and freedoms in one case, the risk was minimal or limited in all other cases. No incidents of theft or loss of personal data were reported during the year.