Dutch bank ING has vowed to fix its anti-money laundering and counterterrorism financing systems, after an investigation by financial crimes regulator AUSTRAC found flaws in the lender’s compliance.

AUSTRAC on Thursday said it accepted a court-enforceable undertaking from ING’s Australian business, with ING promising to beef up its reporting of suspicious transactions, its risk assessments, and its program for complying with anti-money laundering and counterterrorism financing (AML/CTF) laws.

The regulator, which has previously imposed record fines on Commonwealth Bank and Westpac, said ING had identified the compliance issues and voluntarily reported them to AUSTRAC in 2020.

AUSTRAC said it had launched an investigation, which identified concerns in relation to AUSTRAC’s AML/CTF program, its monitoring systems and controls, and its reporting to AUSTRAC.

AUSTRAC chief executive Nicole Rose said businesses needed to have robust systems for AML/CTF compliance, and pointed to ING’s co-operation with the regulator and changes it had already made to its systems.

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“ING have been fully co-operating with AUSTRAC throughout our regulatory inquiries and have demonstrated an ongoing commitment to addressing concerns about the effectiveness of their AML/CTF systems and controls,” Rose said in a statement.

“I would like to acknowledge the significant work already undertaken by ING in identifying and implementing improvements to their programs. We look forward to continuing to work with them to ensure they meet their obligations under the AML/CTF Act.”

ING launched in Australia more than two decades ago, and has built up a branchless business with about $55 billion in mortgages, which is similar in size to Bendigo and Adelaide Bank’s mortgage portfolio.