Anti Money Laundering
Oberbank takes the prevention of money laundering very seriously.
Whistleblowing
The "Oberbank Integrity Line" provides you with an externally hosted reporting system for the confidential and secure transmission of information in the event of suspected violations of the law or financial crimes such as money laundering, fraud, corruption, embezzlement, breach of trust, bribery, extortion and favoritism.
You can also use the option of reporting anonymously. With the case number and your chosen password, you have access to your secure inbox and can communicate confidentially with the whistleblowing office.
Here you can find the whistleblowing reporting system
Anti-corruption and bribery prevention
Oberbank acts in accordance with high ethical principles and undertakes various efforts to avoid corruption and bribery. In addition to various mandatory and voluntary training measures for employees and a comprehensive risk management, codes of conduct and an internal guideline have been implemented to raise awareness and to highlight the importance of this topic within Oberbank.
The Anti-Corruption Guideline summarizes the applicable regulations regarding anti-corruption and bribery prevention e.g.
- OECD Anti-Bribery Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions
- UN Convention against Corruption
- U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA)
- UK Bribery Act, Austrian Criminal Code (StGB)
- Federal Act against Unfair Competition (UWG)
- Austrian Law on the Responsibility of Associations (VbVG)
and lists numerous examples of prohibited actions and Oberbank's approach to certain critical issues. For example, employees are only permitted to accept or give gifts, invitations or other benefits in strictly exceptional cases (e.g. occasional gifts given on the occasion of special family events). Furthermore, secondary employment, shareholdings in companies and board functions must be disclosed before they are taken up and require approval; their cessation must also be reported. The idea behind all these requirements is to create awareness of this critical topic, to avoid undue influence on business relationships, to prevent conflicts of interest among employees and thus to maintain the trust of customers which is essential in banking.
Oberbank is also committed in its Code of Conduct to acting compliant with the applicable statutory regulations. The chapter "Anti-Corruption Management" emphasizes the importance of this topic and refers to the Anti-Corruption Guideline.
Oberbank attaches great importance to the careful selection of its suppliers and business partners and expects them to comply with all applicable statutory requirements. In the Code of Conduct for Suppliers and Business Partners of Oberbank AG, Oberbank distances itself from those companies in connection with which cases of corruption or bribery are known or become known in the course of the business relationship.
Oberbank highly values open communication in the event of an incident, which is why a whistleblowing platform has been set up for reporting actual or suspected misconduct. The possibility of anonymous reporting without pressure or reprisals is available to both employees of the Oberbank Group and external persons. The link to the reporting platform is available to employees on INSIDE (Oberbank intranet) and to external persons on the Oberbank website. The internal working instructions on the topic of whistleblowing (whistleblowing reporting system) are also available to employees in INSIDE at any time.
Violations of anti-corruption regulations are not tolerated in any way and are strictly prosecuted in line with a zero-tolerance policy. The consequences range from measures under employment law (termination, dismissal) to reporting the matter to the competent law enforcement authorities.
Measures to combat corruption and prevent bribery at Oberbank
Code of Conduct
In its Code of Conduct for Employees, Oberbank commits to acting in compliance with the applicable legal provisions, i.e. compliant with the statutory requirements on anti-corruption and bribery prevention.
Oberbank also expects suppliers and business partners to act compliant with the law. The Code of Conduct for Suppliers and Business Partners of Oberbank AG stipulates that suppliers and business partners not to allow any personal dependence, obligation or influence to arise through gifts, services or benefits.
Internal guidelines
Due to the importance of the topic, an internal Anti-Corruption Guideline was drawn up. It summarizes the rules applicable to Oberbank Group with respect to anti-corruption and bribery prevention, lists extensive examples of prohibited acts and describes the general approach of Oberbank in connection with corruption and bribery.
Violations and consequences
Violations of anti-corruption regulations are not tolerated in any way and have always been strictly prosecuted in line with a zero-tolerance policy. The consequences range from measures under employment law (termination, dismissal) to reporting the facts of the case to the competent criminal prosecution authorities. In the event of damages incurred by Oberbank, these are pursued through civil law.
Risk analyses and internal controls
The Compliance department performs a key (risk) management and control function in combination with the identification, reporting and investigation of concerns regarding unlawful conduct. Numerous effective systems and procedures ensure that even minor misconduct is detected, sanctioned and, if necessary, reported to the competent authorities.
The departments and business units of Oberbank (hereinafter referred to as operating units) are audited for corruption risks every two years. Half of the business units are audited in each audit cycle. This means that 100 % of the operating units are audited every four years.
In order to prevent conflicts of interest, extensive risk analyses are carried out both in the area of gift acceptance and with regard to employees' secondary employment.
A fundamental principle of Oberbank is its independence. Oberbank's efforts to preserve its independence are also reflected in its efforts to be independent of political functionaries and parties. For this reason, potential customers are screened by means of the Siron KYC (Know Your Customer) program to determine whether they are politically exposed persons.
The establishment of a monitoring program for corruption risks that could arise from processes, functions and products is already planned.
Training and cooperation
For the purpose of preventing acts relevant to corruption law, all employees of Oberbank must complete mandatory trainings. At the beginning of each financial year, employees are assigned web-based trainings (WBTs) of the Compliance department, which must be successfully completed within one year. Building on the WBTs, there are (face-to-face) trainings tailored to the target group. On a monthly basis, the Compliance department reports the completion rate determined by the Human Resources department to the Management Board.
The development of the new web-based "anti-corruption" training is completed by the end of 2024. This innovative program aims to consolidate and secure employees' knowledge in the area of anti-corruption in the long term. The aim is, not only to deepen understanding of how to identify and combat corruption, but also to focus on the prevention of bribery.
Whistleblowing reporting system
With the Oberbank Integrity Line, Oberbank has been offering an externally hosted reporting platform for whistleblowing reports since December 17, 2021 and thus meets the requirements of the EU Directive 2019/1937 (Whistleblowing Directive) as well as the national standards HSchG (AT), HinSchG (DE), Act 171 of 2.6.2023 (CZ), 54 Act of 30.1.2019 (SK) and Act XXV of 2023 (HU).
The reporting system is accessible to employees via an intranet page (Inside) and for external persons via the Oberbank website. It is easy to use, complies with IT security and data protection requirements and covers all Oberbank languages as well as English. Furthermore, the options of uploading text, image, audio or video files and reporting anonymous are offered; communication with the reporting office is possible via a secure inbox.
Each report is reviewed by the whistleblowing office (defined employees of the Internal Audit department), follow-up measures are initiated and the whistleblower is informed accordingly. The whistleblowing reporting office is not subject to any internal or external reporting channels, therefore strict anonymity and confidentiality are guaranteed.
In July 2023, Oberbank signed a voluntary works agreement on whistleblowing that provides clarity on the implementation of the new Austrian Whistleblower Protection Act (HSchG) at Oberbank and protects every whistleblower from personal disadvantages due to reporting concerns, threats or violations.
Reporting
- Anti-corruption report of the Management Board to the Supervisory Board
Pursuant to Rule 18a of the Austrian Code of Corporate Governance (ÖCGK), to which Oberbank subscribes, at least once a year, the Management Board reports to the Supervisory Board on the precautions taken to combat corruption within the company.
Accordingly, Oberbank's management reports on this issue once a year. This report covers measures and precautions already taken in the past to prevent corruption as well as new measures taken in the past calendar year.
- Donation and sponsorship report
The formal prerequisite for sponsoring activities at Oberbank is the conclusion of a sponsoring agreement in order to be able to provide suitable evidence of the advertising measures taken.
A fundamental principle of Oberbank is its independence. This is also reflected in it's efforts to maintain its independence from political functionaries and parties. For this reason, political contributions, i.e. contributions to political parties, candidates for political office or persons in their function as politicians as well as contributions to political organisations, are not permitted.
Every six months, the Secretariat & Communications department provides the Compliance department with a list of recipients and the purpose and amount of donations and sponsorship benefits granted. For this purpose, the Compliance department is also granted unrestricted access to all information it requires to perform its duties.
Absolutely excluded transactions (exclusion criteria)
Oberbank does not enter into business relationships and distances itself from industries, companies and business practices that it considers to have unacceptable impacts on environmental, social and governance (ESG) aspects.
Absolutely excluded business activities and industries include, in particular, those with companies in connection with which labor law violations, such as violations of the fundamental principles of the International Labour Organization, human rights violations, such as violations of the European Convention on Human Rights, the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, the UN Global Compact or the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, illegal business practices, such as money laundering, fraud, corruption and bribery or the financing of terrorism, or controversial environmental behavior that constitutes a violation of national or international environmental standards and agreements, are known or become known in the course of the business relationship.
Further information and all details on the absolutely excluded transactions can be found under Oberbank's exclusion criteria
Private individuals are not covered by the exclusion criteria, but some transactions by private and corporate customers – for example in the betting and gambling, adult entertainment and weapons sectors – require approval from the Management Board under money laundering law, unless their transactions are already excluded due to the exclusion criteria. In the Know Your Customer (KYC) process, private customers are therefore also subject to numerous checks.