A majority of Irish financial institutions say they are not fully prepared to implement new European anti-money laundering (AML) rules that come into force in early July of next year, PwC Ireland has said.The latest EU AML legislative package will, among other things, establish the new European Anti-Money Laundering Agency and drastically overhaul the entire supervisory framework for regulated firms. In the survey of 531 financial institutions across 40 countries in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region, only 43 per cent of Irish respondents said they were fully prepared for the new rule book, which comes into force on July 10th, 2027.That compares favourably with a survey average of 33 per cent, but the Big Four said the response points to “widespread” concerns about preparedness across the Irish industry. Meanwhile, just 31 per cent of firms in the Republic said they had completed a detailed regulatory analysis and an impact assessment. “As a key hub for cross-border financial services, Ireland will be significantly impacted by the new EU AML package,” said Muireann O’Keeffe, director of AML at PwC Ireland. “The survey underscores that Irish firms share many of the same challenges as their EMEA peers – regulatory complexity, operational readiness gaps and increased compliance intensity driven by the EU AML package. “The survey findings point to a decisive period ahead for Ireland. Firms that can bridge the gap between analysis and execution, industrialise customer due diligence processes, and harness technology effectively are likely to emerge as leaders in the new AML landscape. Conversely, those that fail to accelerate may find themselves increasingly exposed as regulatory scrutiny intensifies and implementation timelines shorten.” In its most recent payments newsletter, the Central Bank of Ireland warned that “significant work” is now required for regulated entities to prepare themselves for the roll-out of the new rule book.