The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency Monday issued a cease-and-desist
Following the order, BofA will be required to and has agreed to revamp its anti-money-laundering protocol, hire a third-party consultant to evaluate BSA and sanctions compliance and undergo a review of the firm's past actions to confirm that all suspicious activity was properly reported. The order did not include any monetary penalty for the bank.
"The OCC took this action based on violations and unsafe or unsound practices relating to these programs, including a failure to timely file suspicious activity reports and failure to correct a previously identified deficiency related to its Customer Due Diligence processes," said the agency in a release. "The order also identifies deficiencies in the internal controls, governance, independent testing, and training components of the bank's BSA compliance program."
The OCC's order painted a picture of a bank that had only partial oversight of its large customer base. The OCC identified significant compliance violations at Bank of America, including inadequate internal controls, poor governance and deficient independent testing the agency said led to systemic lapses in transaction monitoring and suspicious activity reporting.
The bank also neglected to address weaknesses in customer due diligence processes and lacked proper oversight, training and screening for sanctions compliance.
The bank knew this was coming. Bank of America
At the time, the bank acknowledged issues in transaction monitoring, governance, training and customer due diligence. BofA warned of potential enforcement actions but suggested any material financial impact would be limited and said it had already begun to implement program enhancements.. Analysts noted possible expense increases and the potential for growth restrictions, similar to penalties faced by Wells Fargo.
"We have been working closely with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency over the past year to make improvements to our anti-money-laundering and sanctions programs," said a spokesperson for the bank. "The work we've done so far positions us well to implement the requirements of the consent order."
Recent enforcement against Bank of America mirrors prior regulatory actions against other OCC-regulated entities for anti-money-laundering deficiencies, owing to heightened scrutiny across large banks this year, especially regarding money laundering compliance. Wells Fargo
TD Bank faced historic AML noncompliance
Unlike TD, Bank of America's agreement with the OCC did not include any mention of asset caps or restrictions on growth.
