Welcome to our weekly compliance update, in which we have summarized the most important news and developments for you. BaFin recently published the paper “Risks in the focus of BaFin 2025”, which highlights how climate change, geopolitical tensions and a weakening economy could threaten the German financial system. In addition, the German Bundesbank has presented its national supervisory program for the years 2025 to 2027, underlining the growing concern about cyberattacks. Read all the details in this newsletter to find out how these developments could affect your business.
Table of Contents
- BaFin: “Risks in the focus of BaFin 2025” – Climate change, geopolitics and a weak economy could put Germany’s financial system under pressure
- Deutsche Bundesbank: National Supervisory Program 2025-2027
- Deutsche Bundesbank: Cyber attacks
- Newsletter: Receive the most important compliance messages every week free of charge
BaFin: “Risks in the focus of BaFin 2025” – Climate change, geopolitics and a weak economy could put Germany’s financial system under pressure
In its press release dated January 28, 2025, the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) presented the “Risks in the focus of BaFin 2025”. It emphasizes that natural catastrophes, climate change, international tensions and the weak domestic economy could create new risks for the German financial system or exacerbate existing risks. Mark Branson, President of BaFin, emphasizes that risk management will be particularly challenging for companies in 2025, as historical experience is no longer sufficient in some cases. He recommends that companies in the German financial sector incorporate the consequences of climate change even more comprehensively into their risk models.
A speech by the European Commission emphasizes the need to strengthen Europe’s competitiveness. It points out that the EU is facing challenges such as global advances in artificial intelligence, the loss of market share in traditional manufacturing and geopolitical shifts. To address these, the Commission is planning measures to promote innovation, simplify regulations and reduce energy costs. The aim is to make European financial markets more resilient and competitive.
Our opinion
The risks identified by BaFin underline the need for compliance and risk management professionals to continuously adapt their strategies. Increasing physical risks due to climate change require an update of risk models and greater consideration of environmental factors. International tensions and geopolitical upheavals can also lead to changes in money laundering methods, which makes it necessary to continuously monitor and adapt prevention measures.
The European Commission’s efforts to strengthen Europe’s competitiveness also have a direct impact on the area of compliance. The planned measures to simplify regulations could lead to new regulatory framework conditions that need to be taken into account. In addition, the promotion of innovation, particularly in the field of artificial intelligence, requires a careful balance to be struck between data protection requirements and technological advances.
Overall, these developments highlight the dynamic nature of the regulatory environment and the need for compliance, data protection and anti-money laundering professionals to be proactive and flexible in responding to new challenges.
Deutsche Bundesbank: National Supervisory Program 2025-2027
The Deutsche Bundesbank has published its National Supervisory Program for the years 2025 to 2027. Among other things, banking supervision will focus on reviewing institutions’ risk management systems, analyzing the impact of climate change on financial stability and combating money laundering and terrorist financing. In addition, the digital transformation processes of banks are to be supported and operational resilience strengthened.
Our opinion
The Bundesbank’s supervisory programme shows the increasing importance of sustainability and digitalization in the financial sector. It is essential for compliance and data protection officers to proactively accompany these developments and implement appropriate measures to comply with regulatory requirements.
Deutsche Bundesbank: Cyber attacks
The Deutsche Bundesbank provides information on the increasing threat of cyber attacks and the associated financial sanctions. In view of the increasing number and complexity of cyberattacks, the Bundesbank emphasizes the importance of robust IT security measures and effective risk management. It also draws attention to the existing sanctions regimes that can be applied in the event of cyberattacks.
Our opinion
The growing threat of cyberattacks requires compliance and IT security managers to continuously adapt and improve security strategies. It is essential to take preventative measures and stay up to date with the latest technology to protect the integrity and confidentiality of sensitive data and meet regulatory requirements. In addition, current developments require more interactive collaboration between the functions of the second line of defense and a standardized risk assessment, e.g. in accordance with BCBS239. A purely regulatory assessment of risks, as in compliance or the prevention of money laundering, is also not adequate for the latter in order to be able to counter the growing risks promptly and appropriately.
Newsletter: Receive the most important compliance messages every week free of charge
Many compliance officers already use our free newsletter and receive the most important news from the areas of compliance, money laundering prevention, data protection and IT security. We provide a weekly overview of the most important reports and categorize them.
Would you like to be up to date every day? Our legal rights monitoring software gives you access to all notifications and allows you to filter them by relevance, type and area. You can create and download summaries. Get in touch with us.