Deutsche Bank Finds Flaw in Software Used to Assess Money Transfers

(Bloomberg) -- Deutsche Bank AG said it discovered an error in software used to analyze payments, as the bank seeks to step up controls after being tied to a series of money laundering scandals.

The tool was used to examine transactions retroactively and the lender is working to resolve the error “as quickly as possible” and is in touch with regulators about the issue, the bank said Wednesday. Employees at the bank’s anti-financial crimes unit discovered that two parameters out of 121 weren’t correctly defined in one of its applications, it said, confirming a report in Sueddeutsche Zeitung.

The error adds to a long to-do list of regulatory and legal issues the bank is seeking to remedy. It’s under scrutiny from various authorities for its role in a massive money-laundering scandal centered on Danske Bank A/S. Slow progress in improving controls and compliance with regulation has been a source of irritation for regulators.

Deutsche Bank’s anti-financial crime unit is part of the business overseen by management board member Sylvie Matherat, who has faced questions about her future at the bank. The bank last year replaced Chief Operating Officer Kim Hammonds with Frank Kuhnke to boost the speed of improving controls.

To contact the reporter on this story: Steven Arons in Frankfurt at sarons@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Dale Crofts at dcrofts@bloomberg.net, Christian Baumgaertel, Ross Larsen

©2019 Bloomberg L.P.