(Bloomberg) -- German bank Solaris SE faces financial penalties if it doesn’t meet deadlines for fixing controls, after failing to do so for years.
Solaris hasn’t fully remedied issues it was ordered to address in 2022, and new problems have since cropped up too, the country’s financial watchdog BaFin said in a statement on Friday. It also extended the mandate of an independent monitor it previously appointed for Solaris, which has to pay for it.
BaFin has led what’s arguably the biggest clampdown on mostly digital startup banks in Europe, to force them to address perceived deficiencies in preventing money laundering and other financial crimes. While the regulator relaxed measures this year for some of the firms, it has warned that the pressure won’t let up for those that don’t improve controls.
Solaris has a banking license in Germany but it specializes in providing white-label services to other lenders. Last year, it headed off a threat by BaFin to force it to slash business over concerns that its controls and capital strength weren’t keeping up with growth.
The firm “continues to make significant progress in collaboration with the regulator to implement additional measures addressing the identified deficiencies” a Solaris spokesman said by email. The monitor extension “is a formality” that won’t impact the day-to-day operations, he said.
Solaris counts Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA and ABN Amro Bank NV among its investors, according to the company’s website.
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