Money laundering: Banks and savings banks join forces against black money

Crime Banks want to fight together against money laundering

Every year, billions of dollars are estimated to be funneled into the economy from illegal sources. Now banks and savings banks are joining forces against black money criminals.

Commerzbank, Deutsche Bank and the Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe are joining forces in the fight against money laundering and other financial crimes. The two major banks and the German Savings Banks and Giro Association (DSGV) have founded a joint company for this purpose, as the three partners announced. The aim is to identify suspicious money flows across institutional boundaries earlier and to share information about cases of fraud among private and corporate customers.

»Financial crime is becoming increasingly professional and does not stop at company boundaries. That's why it's right that we work more closely together here and pool our experiences and skills," says Commerzbank's Chief Risk Officer, Bernd Spalt. Deutsche Bank manager Dominik Hennen confirms: “We want to better protect our customers and set new standards in fraud prevention.”

»Security in payment transactions is not a question of competition, but rather a shared responsibility of the banking industry.«

If a financial institution detects an account details that are being used fraudulently, it can provide relevant information to other participating institutions via the shared platform. They can then take the findings into account at their own discretion in their protective measures against fraud.

According to the information, the process is technically designed in such a way that the institutions involved can compare certain information without having to disclose all of the underlying data. The offer should also be opened up to other credit institutions, as DSGV board member Joachim Schmalzl explains: “Security in payment transactions is not a question of competition, but a shared responsibility of the banking industry.”

Every year, criminals smuggle billions of dollars into the economy from illegal sources. Financial institutions must report suspicious transactions to the authorities. Nevertheless, Germany is considered a paradise for money laundering - also because a lot of payments are made in cash here. The financial regulator Bafin repeatedly criticizes deficiencies in the fight against money laundering.