A French bank paused transfers after fraudulent operations

Crédit Mutuel Arkéa, the cooperative banking group based in Brest, says it has been the victim of an attack that allowed fraudulent operations to be carried out. In a statement dated 4 November, it says that as soon as the attack was detected it informed the competent and supervisory authorities and, as a precaution, temporarily suspended certain transactions to secure operations and prevent any further fraudulent movement.

The bank describes the incident as closed and under control. Operations were resuming progressively during the morning, after the group and its subsidiaries had completed checks and put strengthened security measures in place. Its message to customers is that their assets are not affected and that the only consequence for them has been the delayed execution of some transfers.

The statement does not give a number. The amounts affected, it says, are still being assessed and are in any case not of a nature to call into question the group's soundness and financial health. Figures for the loss have circulated elsewhere, but the bank itself has not confirmed one in this statement. It warns that phishing attempts may follow the attack and reminds customers never to share identifiers, passwords, card numbers or SMS validation codes, and to call their adviser directly to confirm any message.

The scale of the institution explains the attention. The group comprises the Crédit Mutuel de Bretagne and Crédit Mutuel du Sud-Ouest federations and around forty subsidiaries, including the online bank Fortuneo and the payments firm Monext. It reports 12,073 employees, more than 5.8 million members and customers and a balance sheet of 211.5 billion euros, and says it will report further as new information becomes available.