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The sudden failure of MBaer Merchant Bank AG has triggered considerable uncertainty among its corporate clientele, notably global iron-ore producer Ferrexpo. The mining group has cautioned investors that the bank’s liquidation could adversely affect its operations if alternative banking arrangements are not secured in a timely manner. Ferrexpo revealed that its Swiss subsidiary had relied on the now-defunct institution for a range of financial services. With regulators forcin

Tomas Niembro Concha, the former chief executive officer of Nodus International Bank, has pleaded guilty to orchestrating a vast financial conspiracy that siphoned at least $24.9 million from the institution while simultaneously circumventing United States sanctions. Federal prosecutors in the Southern District of Florida revealed that Concha leveraged his leadership position to treat the regulated bank as a personal source of capital for illicit enrichment and prohibited for

The European Banking Authority (EBA) has released its second Impact Assessment Report on the minimum requirement for own funds and eligible liabilities (MREL), examining how the framework has affected banks across the European Union, as well as its influence on markets and funding structures. According to the findings, banks within the EU have continued to strengthen their MREL positions while also improving their access to financial markets, with minimal disruption to their

National Bank of Greece has announced the successful completion of the Etalia B transaction, involving the sale of non-performing exposures. The deal concerns a portfolio of non-performing loans with €0.1 billion in outstanding principal, representing a further step in the bank’s ongoing efforts to streamline its balance sheet. The portfolio was transferred to Creditable Opportunities Fund SCA SICAV-RAIF, an acquisition vehicle affiliated with the EOS Group, while management

Authorities in Jakarta, Indonesia, have intensified their efforts to combat illegal online gambling, announcing a major crackdown on 132 online casino websites and freezing hundreds of billions of rupiah in related financial transactions.   According to officials, law enforcement agencies have temporarily blocked bank transactions totaling 255.75 billion rupiah, equivalent to about $15.2 million, as part of an ongoing campaign against digital gambling networks.   In an offici

European Central Bank and European Systemic Risk Board have jointly released a detailed analysis warning that expanding connections between traditional banks and the non-bank financial intermediation sector could create structural vulnerabilities capable of intensifying financial stress during adverse market environments. The joint publication, titled “Financial stability risks from linkages between banks and the non-bank financial intermediation sector”, concludes that while

Leonardo Ayala has admitted to participating in an extensive illicit financial operation in which he accepted more than $6,000 in bribes while helping launder approximately $5.5 million to Colombia during his employment at a major U.S. bank. Federal authorities disclosed that Ayala abused his internal access to open fraudulent accounts and issue hundreds of debit cards that bypassed standard security controls. Those accounts were subsequently used to carry out more than 12,00

Interest rates are widely expected to remain unchanged as the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) convenes for its first policy meeting of the year.   In December, the MPC voted to reduce the Bank rate from 4% to 3.75%, while indicating that borrowing costs were “likely to continue on a gradual downward path.” The Bank rate is the committee’s main instrument for steering inflation — which measures the yearly pace of rising prices — toward its 2% target. It also

A 25-year-old woman from St Paul’s Bay has been remanded in custody after pleading not guilty to charges accusing her of scamming roughly 200 individuals by allegedly pretending to be a bank. Tammy Caruana, who informed the court that she is currently unemployed, was arraigned following a large-scale online fraud probe conducted by the Malta Police Force’s Financial Crimes Investigations Department. The investigation was carried out in collaboration with Europol as well as la

The governor of the Philippines’ central bank has warned that the country faces a real possibility of being placed back on the Financial Action Task Force’s grey list as it approaches its next international evaluation. Speaking on Monday in comments reported by the Philippine News Agency, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Eli Remolona Jr. stressed the importance of sustained compliance, telling reporters, “we have to do what we need to do to show FATF that we’re doing ever

Bank Negara Malaysia has imposed administrative monetary penalties and compounds amounting to USD 273,614 on four separate entities for breaching statutory requirements related to the reporting of suspicious financial transactions. The enforcement actions involve MBSB Bank Berhad, Small Medium Enterprise Development Bank Malaysia Berhad (SME Bank), Boardroom Corporate Services Sdn Bhd, and Ilham Secretarial Services, all of which were found to have fallen short in identifying

German federal police, together with investigators from the Federal Criminal Police Office, carried out wide-ranging searches at Deutsche Bank’s corporate offices in Frankfurt and Berlin on January 28, 2026. The operation was ordered by prosecutors in Frankfurt and is directed at unidentified managers and employees suspected of breaching national financial laws. Investigators are examining whether the bank enabled transactions for foreign entities connected to individuals und

The Lebanese Central Bank has introduced a series of regulatory enhancements aimed at responding to evolving financial threats and preserving the integrity of the national banking system. At the core of these reforms is a strong emphasis on deploying advanced screening mechanisms designed to identify illicit funds before they can penetrate the formal economy. Regulators are placing greater weight on transparency by requiring more frequent disclosures and imposing stricter sta

Indonesia’s Financial Services Authority (OJK) has directed the country’s banks to block and shut down 31,382 accounts suspected of being connected to illegal online gambling activities, an increase from the 30,392 accounts previously flagged by regulators.   Authorities have repeatedly warned that online gambling poses serious risks to financial stability, disrupts household finances and undermines the wider economy. Although many gambling platforms are operated from outside

The Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier has imposed an administrative fine of €185,000 on Rakuten Europe Bank S.A. after identifying serious shortcomings in the institution’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing controls. The decision was formally adopted on May 19, 2025, and made public on the regulator’s website in early 2026. The sanction corresponds to approximately one percent of the bank’s annual turnover as reported at the end of the 2022 f