A new era seems to have arrived, also in Belgium. Degroof Petercam, one of the "old ladies" in Belgian private and investment banking, has been awarded the lowest possible audit-score by the NBB, the Belgian Central Bank. Investigations have been started around different potential irregularities. A multimillion is far from unlikely to be imposed.

This new era is one in which the regulator actually fulfills its role and acts decisively. Smoke curtains were raised for too long and shadow battles were delivered under the motto "what does not know does not matter".

It is of course not clear at the moment what exactly is going on at one of the most venerable financial institutions in Belgium. What is clear is that the internal control was completely inadequate and that there was apparently no sense of urgency to thoroughly investigate and remediate the issue. Slanderers will notice that the cause of the limp check may be found in a combination of incompetence (lack of suitable tools and / or people) and unwillingness (customer is king, isn't he?)

My message, as a technologybroker, to every financial institution is the following: talk to us! The appropriate tools exist, no doubt, whatever some "specialists" may claim. They don't necessarily have to cost a fortune. The implementation of these tools at least makes it possible to eliminate the cause  of incompetence. The one of unwillingness...well, I leave that one to the respective Boards....