BBA puts weight behind UK fraud review

LONDON - With the Home Office estimating that fraud costs the UK economy £20 billion per year, new initiatives in combating fraud levels in the UK have met with widespread industry support. In its response to a government consultation paper on fraud, the British Bankers Association (BBA) says the government should implement its fraud review "out of necessity".

Suggestions made in the review, which was originally published in July, included fraud measurement via the National Fraud Reporting Centre (NFRC); making fraud a policing priority like counter-terrorism; and ending present uncertainties over data-sharing between banks and law enforcement organisations.

In its response, the BBA said: "Fighting financial crime, as the fraud review recognises, must be