BaFin Fines N26 €15,000 for Failing to Report Supervisory Board Loan Approval
Germany’s financial regulator BaFin issued a €15,000 fine to N26 on 18 March 2025, after the neobank failed to inform the regulator that its supervisory board had improperly approved a loan granted to one of the bank’s own executives — a disclosure obligation under the German Banking Act.
What Happened
The fine covered a specific governance failure: N26’s supervisory board approved a loan to an executive without properly notifying BaFin in advance, as required under §15 of the German Banking Act (KWG), which governs loans to members of supervisory and management bodies.
The €15,000 fine was a targeted enforcement action distinct from the broader supervisory measures that BaFin would announce later in December 2025.
Context: N26’s Regulatory History with BaFin
This March 2025 action continued a pattern of regulatory friction between N26 and BaFin:
- 2021 — BaFin imposed a customer growth cap (50,000 new accounts/month) and appointed a special anti-money laundering monitor after deficiencies in N26’s AML controls
- May 2024 — BaFin issued a separate fine for AML-related failings
- March 2025 — €15,000 fine for failure to report supervisory board loan approval
- December 2025 — BaFin announced its most serious measures yet, including a mortgage lending ban in the Netherlands and the appointment of a second special compliance monitor
What It Means for N26 Customers
The March 2025 fine had no direct impact on customer accounts, deposits, or services. N26 retained its full German banking licence throughout. Deposits remained protected up to €100,000 under the German Deposit Guarantee Scheme.
However, the accumulation of regulatory actions through 2025 underscored a structural compliance challenge at N26 that investors and customers were watching closely.
→ Read our full N26 review including the December 2025 BaFin sanctions