The Norwegian Financial Supervisory Authority published an inspection report on Svenska Handelsbanken AB’s Norwegian branch (Svenska Handelsbanken AB NUF) following an on-site review in March 2024 of compliance with Norway’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing rules. The supervisor concluded that the branch had serious shortcomings at the time of the inspection. The findings covered weaknesses in the enterprise risk assessment, policies and procedures, customer due diligence and risk classification, ongoing monitoring, outsourcing oversight, investigations and reporting, internal control and staff training. Finanstilsynet highlighted, among other issues, gaps in the risk assessment including the treatment of terrorist financing risk, a customer risk model that was described as generic and insufficiently aligned to the branch’s risk profile, and transaction monitoring scenarios that were not adequately calibrated to identified risks. A file review of 115 customer relationships identified recurring deficiencies in basic and enhanced due diligence and ongoing review, including missing identification documentation (the branch reported 1,002 customers without ID), unclarity around beneficial ownership identification, missing information on account purpose and intended nature (the branch reported 558 customers without such responses), and a backlog in periodic follow-up (the branch reported 3,385 customers pending follow-up). The report also noted a high rate of alarm closures at a preliminary stage (87% in 2023 and 85% in 2024), an instance assessed as a breach of the tipping-off prohibition, and inadequate governance and control of outsourced cash services in retail stores. Remediation work is expected to be completed during the current year, with the branch required to submit semi-annual progress updates, starting with a first report as at 30 June 2026. Measures implemented to address the deficiencies are to be validated by the branch’s internal auditor.
Norwegian Finanstilsynet 2026-04-10
Norwegian Financial Supervisory Authority finds serious anti-money laundering deficiencies in Handelsbanken’s Norwegian branch
The Norwegian Financial Supervisory Authority published an inspection report identifying serious anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing deficiencies at Svenska Handelsbanken AB’s Norwegian branch. Weaknesses were found in risk assessment, customer due diligence, transaction monitoring, outsourcing oversight, investigations and reporting, internal control and staff training, including many customers without identification or account purpose information and high early-stage alarm closure rates. The branch is expected to complete remediation this year and provide semi-annual progress reports, with corrective measures validated by its internal auditor.