On 11 February 2026 in Frankfurt, ECB Supervisory Board Chair Claudia Buch delivered a speech on cooperation between the new EU Anti‑Money Laundering Authority (AMLA) and ECB Banking Supervision, outlining how integrated AML/CFT and prudential oversight can strengthen financial stability.
The speech underscores how closer integration between AML/CFT and prudential supervision is increasingly essential for financial stability, a lesson highly relevant to emerging markets seeking to strengthen supervisory regimes and manage cross‑border risks.
First, the establishment of AMLA as an EU‑level authority illustrates the value of reducing fragmentation in AML/CFT supervision and creating a consistent framework for risk classification, methodologies and enforcement. Emerging markets with multiple domestic AML/CFT bodies, overlapping mandates and gaps between conduct, prudential and financial intelligence functions can draw on this model when considering centralised or lead‑authority arrangements. The use of AML/CFT colleges and formal MoUs between prudential and AML/CFT supervisors also offers a template for structured information sharing, especially around governance failures and serious ML/TF breaches that signal deeper prudential weaknesses.
Second, the speech highlights how digitalisation, new payment methods and the growth of crypto‑asset service providers are reshaping ML/TF risk profiles, with strong interconnections to the regulated banking sector. For emerging markets where crypto adoption and digital payments are growing faster than supervisory capacity, the emphasis on convergent CASP supervision, fit‑for‑purpose authorisation regimes and cross‑border coordination is directly applicable. The reference to AI and suptech tools for both banks and supervisors also points to practical avenues for resource‑constrained authorities to improve detection of suspicious activity and streamline supervisory workflows.
Finally, the ECB’s internal reform agenda—sharpening priorities, applying proportionality, and concentrating resources on the most material risks through risk based suopervision approach —speaks to a broader supervisory philosophy that can guide emerging markets as they modernise their own frameworks. Integrating ML/TF considerations into SREP‑type processes, suitability assessments and on‑site inspections, rather than treating AML/CFT as a separate silo, is particularly relevant where supervisory resources are scarce and capacity building must be tightly focused on systemically important institutions and higher‑risk sectors.
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