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* NatWest faces 'very large fine' -FCA
* NatWest to take provision in third quarter results
* NatWest CEO Rose deeply regrets failure
* Sentencing hearing expected in December
(Adds further details, context)
By Kirstin Ridley and Iain Withers
LONDON, Oct 7 (Reuters) - NatWest pleaded guilty on
Thursday to failing to prevent the laundering of nearly 400
million pounds ($544 million), the first bank in Britain to
admit to such an offence.
NatWest, which is 55% taxpayer owned after a 45 billion
pound plus state bailout during the financial crisis, indicated
guilty pleas in a London court to three offences of not
adequately monitoring customer accounts between 2012 and 2016.
"The facts of the case are complex, the likely sentence is a
very large fine," a lawyer for the Financial Conduct Authority
(FCA), which prosecuted the case against NatWest, told
Westminster Magistrates' Court.
NatWest said in a statement it will take a provision in its
third quarter results next month in anticipation of the fine.
The FCA alleged NatWest failed to monitor suspect activity
by a client that deposited about 365 million pounds in its
accounts over five years, of which 264 million was in cash.
But it said it would not take action against any current or
former employees and the bank said it was not anticipating any
other authority investigating this conduct.
The criminal action, first announced by the FCA in March, is
the first against a bank under a 2007 money laundering law.
"We deeply regret that NatWest failed to adequately monitor
and therefore prevent money laundering by one of our customers,"
NatWest CEO Alison Rose said in a statement.
A sentencing hearing will take place at a higher Crown
Court, possibly around Dec. 7, Westminster Magistrates' Court
was told.
The FCA action is a blow to Rose's drive to rehabilitate the
bank's image, including rebranding the group from the
scandal-tainted Royal Bank of Scotland banner last year.
($1 = 0.7356 pounds)
(Reporting by Iain Withers and Kirstin Ridley, Editing by
Rachel Armstrong and Alexander Smith)
