CORRECTED - Moldova's Comertbank gets 86,500 euro fine

Please also note that a new paragraph has been added to make clear the bank is operating in normal mode and the established irregularities do not represent a major risk for its financial stability.

A corrected version follows:

Moldova's central bank, BNM, said it has imposed a 1.7 million lei ($100,700/ 86,500 euro) on commercial lender Comertbank for a number of breaches of the country's legislation, including the prudential lending and anti-money laundering laws.

The decision was taken as a result of a complex field control carried out at the bank, BNM said in a press release on Monday.

In particular, the bank has failed to comply with some of the legal requirements concerning the composition of its council, the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing, prudential lending, risk concentration, transactions with affiliated banks, internal control systems and on its management framework, BNM added.

BNM noted that the established irregularities did not exceed the prudential limits and do not represent a major risk for financial stability and Comertbank is operating in normal mode, providing all services, including those related to deposits, lending and settlements operations.

Comertbank is one of the eleven commercial banks that operate in Moldova. It employs 146 and has eight branches across the country. Its main shareholder is ACF Corporate Finance Consulting AG with 88.18%, while the rest is divided between five individual shareholders.

(1 euro = 19.6539 Moldovan lei)