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German Regulator Sets Sights on Fintechs, Compliance Outsourcing

By Gabriel Vedrenne

Germany's financial regulator has vowed to keep playing hardball with fintechs out of concern that their anti-money laundering programs have not kept pace with their rapid growth. In "Risks in Focus," a 46-page annual report, Germany's Federal Financial Supervisory Authority, or BaFin, on Tuesday once again identified weak AML controls as one of seven threats to the country's financial system, alongside cyberattacks, widespread loan defaults, interest rate rises and other scenarios. But unlike previous years, when BaFin described the situation as "stable," the agency concluded that the threat posed by noncompliant fintechs has risen enough to warrant "more special audits...

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