The European Central Bank (ECB) has published statistics on the sanctioning activities of both the ECB and national competent authorities (NCAs) participating in the Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM) in relation to breaches of prudential requirements.
The ECB’s report provides aggregated statistics on sanctioning activities across the SSM, including administrative penalties imposed on significant credit institutions (SIs), less significant credit institutions (LSIs), other legal persons and natural persons. The report does not cover sanctioning activities that fall outside the scope of prudential supervision, such as activities relating to payment systems, investment services, anti-money laundering / counter-terrorist financing and consumer protection.
This article outlines the key statistics in the report.
Please note, references to “sanctioning proceedings” below refer to proceedings opened with a view to taking action to ensure appropriate administrative penalties are imposed for any breaches of prudential requirements. A “proceeding” is not the same as a “case” – where a case concerns multiple breaches, they are reported, for the purposes of the ECB’s report, as different proceedings. References to “administrative penalties” refers to the sanction(s) imposed following the conclusion of a proceeding.
Sanctioning proceedings handled in 2024
- At the beginning of 2024, 148 sanctioning proceedings were on-going, having been opened in previous years.
- During 2024, 293 new sanctioning proceedings were opened (including 22 initiated by NCAs upon the ECB’s request), bringing the total proceedings handled during 2024 to 441. This was a 19% increase compared with 2023.
- Of the 441 proceedings handled, 221 were completed in 2024, while 220 remained on-going at the end of the year.
- More than half of the sanctioning proceedings handled in 2024 related to breaches in the area of internal governance (55%), with the next largest shares relating to reporting (12%), large exposures (12%), capital requirements (6%), qualifying holdings (5%) and own funds (2%).
- Within the area of internal governance, proceedings mainly related to risk management and internal controls, and organisational requirements (including the functioning of management bodies and committees).
Administrative penalties imposed in 2024
- Of the 221 sanctioning proceedings completed in 2024, 201 (91%) resulted in the imposition of 182 administrative penalties, an 8% increase compared with 2023.
- Of the 201 proceedings where an administrative penalty was imposed, 104 (52%) related to LSIs, 90 (45%) to natural persons, 5 (3%) to SIs and 2 (1%) to other legal persons falling within the remit of the NCAs.
- Of the 182 administrative penalties imposed, 140 (77%) were pecuniary penalties and 42 were non-pecuniary penalties (including 38 written warnings (21%), two public statements (1%), one temporary ban on performing functions (0.5%) and one ‘cease and desist’ order (0.5%)).
- The highest pecuniary penalty was €10.4 million, which was imposed on an SI. The highest fine imposed on an LSI was €5.7 million, while the highest penalty imposed on a natural person was €100,000.
- More than half of the administrative penalties related to internal governance (60%), with the next largest shares relating to reporting (21%) and large exposures (11%), followed by other areas with far smaller shares (including, own funds (1%), capital requirements (1%), liquidity (1%) and qualifying holdings (<1%)).
- Within the area of internal governance, penalties imposed mainly related to risk management and internal controls.
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Date published: 20 May 2025
