meta_id 2952225

On March 10, 2026, the European Central Bank (ECB) imposed an administrative penalty of €2.26 million on Nordea Finance Finland Ltd (Nordea Rahoitus Suomi Oy) for breaching large exposures reporting requirements and exceeding the large exposures limit set out in EU banking rules. Under EU banking regulations, large exposures are defined as exposures to a counterpart or group of connected counterparts exceeding 10 percent of a bank's capital. Banks are prohibited from allowing any single large exposure to exceed 25 percent of their capital. Between 2021 and 2024, Nordea Finance Finland Ltd incorrectly assigned guaranteed receivables to debtors instead of guarantors when calculating large exposures for 13 consecutive quarters. This classification method was prohibited by a regulatory change introduced in 2021. As a result, the bank exceeded the 25 percent large exposures limit established by EU law. The ECB determined the bank committed these breaches with serious negligence, with deficiencies in internal controls contributing to both the occurrence and duration of the violations. The ECB classified both breaches as "severe" under its Guide to the Method of Setting Administrative Pecuniary Penalties, which comprises five severity categories: minor, moderately severe, severe, very severe, and extremely severe. Nordea Finance Finland Ltd has the right to challenge the ECB's decision before the Court of Justice of the European Union. The penalty reflects the ECB's supervisory enforcement action against breaches of large exposures requirements applicable to credit institutions under its direct supervision. REFERENCE: European Central Bank. "ECB sanctions Nordea subsidiary for breaching limit on large exposures." Press Release, March 10, 2026. https://www.ecb.europa.eu/press/pr/date/2026/html/ecb.pr260310~3d3f9b7b81.en.html