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The UK financial regulator has fined app-based Starling Bank £29m for “shockingly lax” failures related to financial sanctions screening.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said that Starling had reported “multiple potential breaches of financial sanctions” despite its financial checks process being under scrutiny by the regulator.

Starling’s financial sanction screening controls were shockingly lax. It left the financial system wide open to criminals and those subject to sanctions. It compounded this by failing to properly comply with FCA requirements it had agreed to, which were put in place to lower the risk of Starling facilitating financial crime.

The unemployment rate remains at the lowest level recorded since the eurozone began in 1999. The low rate remains remarkable given the sluggish economic environment that the eurozone has been in since late 2022. But labour demand remains high despite a weak economic environment. That results in worrisome productivity developments, but also boosts household income growth and confidence in the short-term.