The EACB supports EBA's effort to establish general principles for internal arrangements that European financial institutions should adopt to comply with European and domestic restrictive measures. However, the two draft Guidelines give rise to specific concerns that the EACB aims to address in its response to the consultation.
First of all, we wish to underline that while the rationale for these guidelines is clear, the legal basis outlined in both drafts is questionable.
Additionally, the new Anti-Money Laundering Authority (AMLA) will provide for a more comprehensive legal basis for internal arrangements and controls for sanctions through Regulatory Technical Standards (RTS) under the AML legislative package. Therefore, it would be advisable to wait for the transfer of competences to the AMLA for initiating works on comprehensive guidelines that would cover entire governance / risk management arrangements.
Last, these guidelines seem to introduce a supplementary compliance/preventive regime that does not exist – or only exist in part – for certain Member States’ sanction frameworks. Indeed, for some countries, sanction rules only consist in criminal provision sanctioning intentional failures/negligence to apply restrictive measures in force.
Download our position paper to learn EACB's position and our specific recommendations.