PROVIDENCE – Bank of America Corp. has been ordered by federal regulators Monday to fix problems with the bank’s anti-money laundering controls, some of which had been reported previously.
The U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency said it took the action based on violations and unsound practices related to the Bank Secrecy Act and its sanctions compliance programs. The violations included failing to file suspicious activity reports in a timely manner and failing to correct a previously identified problem in its “customer due diligence processes.”
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The OCC said the order requires Bank of America – the nation’s second-largest bank – to take corrective actions, including the hiring of an independent consultant to assess the bank’s Bank Secrecy Act and anti-money laundering programs and review whether suspicious activity in the past was reported. Bank of America, the second-largest bank in Rhode Island by deposits in the market, agreed to enter into the consent order and did not receive a fine.
The bank must file an action plan within 90 days outlining the steps it will take to correct the violations.
In the order issued Monday, the bank neither admitted to nor denied the charges that it:
- Failed to develop and provide for the continued administration of a program to monitor Bank Secrecy Act compliance.
- Had a breakdown in its policies, procedures and processes to identify, evaluate and report suspicious activity.
- Failed to make substantial progress toward correcting problems with the bank’s “customer due diligence processes” that the OCC previously reported to the bank.
- Engaged in unsafe or unsound practices related to its sanctions compliance and BSA compliance program, including internal controls; governance; transaction monitoring and models; suspicious activity monitoring, investigation and reporting; due diligence; risk assessments; BSA officer; staffing; internal audit; and training.
Monday’s action by the OCC comes two months after TD Bank agreed to pay about $3 billion in a historic settlement with U.S. authorities after it was found that lax practices by the Toronto-based bank allowed significant money laundering over multiple years.
