Credit Institutions Reinforce Their Role in the Fight Against Money Laundering

AEB, CECA, and Unacc, in collaboration with Sepblac, celebrate the eighth Sectoral Conference on the Prevention of Money Laundering and the Financing of Terrorism

The recent agreement between the ECB and the AMLA, establishing a structured framework for cooperation and information exchange, is discussed

The annual meeting gathers prominent representatives from the General Directorate of the Treasury and Financial Policy, Sepblac, credit institutions, and sectoral associations

The associations of credit institutions AEB, CECA, and Unacc, in collaboration with Sepblac, have held the eighth edition of the Sectoral Conference on the Prevention of Money Laundering and the Financing of Terrorism, featuring experts in the field as well as representatives from supervisory bodies and key regulatory authorities.

The meeting, held at the CECA headquarters in Madrid, was marked by the recent agreement between the European Central Bank (ECB) and the European authority, the Anti-Money Laundering Authority (AMLA), which establishes a structured framework for cooperation and information exchange to strengthen oversight in the prevention of money laundering and to avoid duplication of efforts.

This agreement exemplifies how coordination between the public sector and collaboration with private banking strengthens a more effective system in the fight against money laundering and the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT). In this context, Spanish financial institutions stand out for their rigor and commitment to regulatory compliance, as well as for their active cooperation with the competent authorities, an effort that has received recognition from specialized international organizations.

The conference brought together the main representatives of the credit institutions integrated into the organizing associations, all specialized in AML/CFT, who discussed the latest developments in regulation, new risk typologies, and emerging trends in money laundering.

The meeting was inaugurated by Lourdes Jiménez Ramos, Deputy General Director of Inspection and Control of Capital Movements at the Treasury, who highlighted the challenges that the private and public sectors will have to face together in the coming months, emphasizing the adaptation of the institutional and regulatory framework, with the start-up of AMLA, as well as the mutual evaluation by the Financial Action Task Force that will begin in 2026 and which will test the state of the Spanish preventive system. The Vice President of AMLA, Juan Manuel Vega Serrano, intervened with a presentation on the new European authority and the presentation of a strategic roadmap to strengthen oversight of money laundering and aid in the coordination of financial intelligence.

Subsequently, three roundtables were held focusing on supervision, financial intelligence, and regulatory developments, respectively, with representatives from both the public and private sectors participating.

The first panel, dedicated to developments in supervision and inspection, was moderated by Raquel Cabeza, Corporate Director of Risks and Compliance at CECA. Alejandro Valiñas, Head of Financial Institution Inspection Division at Sepblac, and Juan Casillas, Head of the Inspection Unit for Banking, Insurance, and Securities of the same organization, participated. Both presented conclusions drawn from the most recent inspections, as well as detected findings and upcoming challenges in the future inspection plan, highlighting the importance of coordination between national and European supervisors in a scenario where the new AMLA starts to assume competencies.

The second panel discussed the most relevant developments and typologies in the field of financial intelligence. The discussion was moderated by Cristina Freijanes, Secretary General of UNACC, and included contributions from Juan Carlos Calleja, Head of Strategic Intelligence Division at Sepblac; Guillermo Yubero, inspector of the National Police in the Central Financial Intelligence Brigade assigned to Sepblac; David Saludes Moronval, Director of Regulatory Compliance at Ibercaja Banco, and Luis Francisco Luján Moralejo, Head of Financial Crime Compliance at Banco Santander. The speakers shared their experiences on emerging typologies of money laundering and illicit financing, underscoring the role of public-private cooperation and the need for innovative tools to detect suspicious transactions, such as new communications regarding signs of mule accounts and frauds.

Finally, the third panel was moderated by María Peco, Senior Advisor on Legal Affairs and Anti-Money Laundering at AEB. The participants included Irene Sánchez, Advisory Member at the General Treasury and International Financing of the Public Treasury; Belén Álvarez, AML/CFT expert from the Inspection Division of Non-Financial Entities and Technical Secretariat of Sepblac, and Gemma Serrano Villajos from the anti-money laundering unit at Caja Rural del Sur. The main purpose of this panel was to explore some of the changes introduced in the recent update of EU and international regulations and how they impact the national scope and organizations.

The conference concluded with remarks from Pedro Comín, Director of Sepblac, who valued the contributions made throughout the roundtables and emphasized the importance of maintaining a solid cooperation framework among supervisors, authorities, and financial entities.