Press release 6 July 2022

FIN-FSA issues decision to S-Bank Plc on establishment of certain groups of connected clients

The Financial Supervisory Authority (FIN-FSA) obliges S-Bank Plc to establish certain groups of connected clients as required by regulation.

S-Bank Plc has failed to comply with the provisions of the Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council (Capital Requirements Regulation, CRR) on the establishment of groups of connected clients and the Guidelines of the European Banking Authority (EBA GL/2017/15) on establishing connectedness based on economic dependency.

To ensure adequate reporting and limiting of customer risks and the quality of risk management, the bank must carefully assess such two or more natural or legal persons that may constitute a single risk to the bank.

This decision only concerns certain groups of connected clients. S-Bank Plc must establish the groups of connected clients concerned by this decision at the latest on 31 October 2022.

The FIN-FSA urges S-Bank Plc to identify also other potential economic dependencies. The identification of groups of connected clients is one of a bank’s ongoing processes and a crucial part of its risk management.

The FIN-FSA's decision is not yet legally binding. The Bank has the right to appeal against the decision to the Helsinki Administrative Court within 30 days of receipt of notice of the decision.

For further information, please contact

Sari Lindqvist, Head of Division, Off-Site Supervision 2. Requests for interviews are coordinated by FIN-FSA Communications, tel.  +358 9 183 5030 (weekdays 9:00–16:00)

Appendix

FIN-FSA decision (pdf, in Finnish)