The European Banking Authority has published its fifth and final report on the functioning of anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) colleges, concluding that colleges are effective in facilitating information exchange and have supported more effective AML/CFT supervision across the Union. However, the report finds that colleges are still not consistently delivering on a key objective of the framework, namely addressing issues affecting multiple entities within a cross-border group in a coordinated manner. EBA monitoring indicates limited progress on two priorities highlighted in its previous report. Some supervisors are not yet sufficiently tailoring the functioning of colleges, including the channels used and the frequency of exchange, to the level of money laundering and terrorist financing (ML/TF) risk, which can hinder the ability to direct resources to the most strategic colleges. In addition, most actively monitored colleges made insufficient efforts to identify common ML/TF risks and AML/CFT issues, limiting meaningful and systematic discussion on the need for a common approach or joint action. Responsibility for monitoring AML/CFT colleges will transfer to the Anti-Money Laundering Authority (AMLA) from 1 January 2026, and the EBA’s findings are positioned as input to AMLA as it builds its supervisory framework.
European Banking Authority 2025-10-22
European Banking Authority final report finds AML/CFT colleges improve information exchange but fall short on coordinated group action
The European Banking Authority (EBA) published its final report on AML/CFT colleges, noting effective information exchange but inconsistent cross-border coordination. Limited progress on tailoring functions to risk levels hampers resource allocation. Responsibility for monitoring these colleges will transfer to the Anti-Money Laundering Authority (AMLA) from January 2026, with EBA's findings informing AMLA's supervisory framework.