This post was originally published on OCC.gov
WASHINGTON—The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) today announced a $750 million civil money penalty against Bank of America, N.A. (bank), for violations of the Bank Secrecy Act and its implementing regulations, including 12 CFR 21.21 and 12 CFR 21.11. This amount is the largest in OCC history. The bank is also subject to a December 2024 cease-and-desist order (2024 Order), which requires the bank to address its deficient Bank Secrecy Act/anti-money laundering (BSA/AML) compliance program.
“Bank of America, N.A., is the second largest bank in the U.S. and the sixth largest in the world. Every year, it processes hundreds of trillions of dollars in transactions across the globe. It has a high, and increasing, risk profile for money laundering, terrorist financing and other illicit activities. Almost two years ago, the bank signed an order with the OCC and committed to fixing its longstanding BSA deficiencies. Despite its obligation to the American people as a national-chartered, global systemically important bank, the bank’s BSA/AML compliance program continues to reflect widespread breakdowns in internal controls, which threatens U.S. national and economic security” said Comptroller of the Currency Jonathan V. Gould. “The bank’s poor response to its BSA deficiencies is unacceptable. The second largest bank’s egregious and continued BSA violations warrant the OCC imposing its largest CMP ever assessed against a bank. The OCC expects all banks to have an effective BSA/AML compliance program. Those that do not can expect swift and significant action from the OCC.”
The OCC found that the bank’s BSA/AML compliance program has been deficient and ineffective. The bank’s deficient transaction monitoring system resulted in the bank failing to properly monitor trillions of dollars in transactions. This caused the bank to file large numbers of late suspicious activity reports (SARs) involving billions of dollars. Many of the late SARs had indicia of money laundering. The bank knew for years that it was failing to escalate potentially suspicious activities to investigators for review to determine if a SAR should be filed but failed to correct this serious BSA violation.
In addition, the bank’s BSA Officer and staff lacked sufficient skills and expertise to effectively manage the bank’s BSA/AML program. Key BSA personnel did not receive appropriate training regarding suspicious activity identification, investigation, and reporting, which resulted in the bank filing inaccurate and late SARs. The BSA audit function failed to identify long-standing BSA concerns that examiners subsequently uncovered.
After agreeing to the 2024 Order, the bank still failed to prioritize BSA/AML compliance. The bank did not complete many of the significant steps needed to establish an effective BSA/AML compliance program and its program continues to have significant breakdowns. For example, more than a year after the 2024 Order, the bank still failed to escalate potentially suspicious activities to investigators for review. Additionally, the bank processed potential trade-based money laundering transactions due to a systemic gap in its transaction monitoring program. Bank management failed to ensure the bank had an effective BSA/AML compliance program and continued to minimize the program’s significant deficiencies.
The OCC is taking this action in coordination with an action by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), which is assessing a $1.2 billion fine that credits the OCC’s $750 million penalty and is requiring remedial action by the bank. The OCC-assessed penalty will be paid to the U.S. Treasury.