DNB, Nordea and Danske Bank use enormous resources to fight financial crime. Nevertheless, everyone has experienced major money laundering cases in recent years.
Figures taken by Dagens Næringsliv in from the three largest banks operating in Norway show that they have a total of 3,800 employees working to fight economic crime. More than NOK 15 billion has been spent on this since 2015.
– “No matter how much resources we use, we cannot guarantee that the payment systems will not be misused. As long as there are payment systems, the criminals will also try to use those channels for crime. So our job is to make it as difficult as possible,” says DNB Communications Director Thomas Midteide.
One concern is that costs scare away investors and shareholders.
Storebrand manager Hans Thrane Nielsen says control of operations is a necessary cost, but it must not be at the expense of the bank’s earnings culture.
“You can’t eliminate the risk of a rotten egg, but minimize the probability,” he says.
Fund manager Jan Petter Sissener in the management company Sissener AS, in turn, has stopped investing in banks because the costs associated with combating financial crime are only rising.
© NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today
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