U.S. Bank, JPMorgan freed from BSA enforcement actions

U.S. Bancorp has been freed from the last of two regulatory actions tied to anti-money laundering compliance, including its dealings with a payday lender who was later convicted of fraud.

The Federal Reserve Board on Dec. 5 terminated a 2018 cease-and-desist order that required the Minneapolis company to upgrade its systems for detecting money laundering. A separate regulatory order from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, related to the same matter, was lifted in November 2018.

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U.S. Bancorp is “pleased with the Federal Reserve’s announcement today and with the current state of our anti-money laundering compliance program,” Cheryl Leamon, a company spokeswoman, said in an emailed statement.

In February 2018, U.S. Bancorp agreed to pay $613 million in penalties and to enter into a deferred prosecution agreement with the Justice Department over its Bank Secrecy Act compliance. The company was criticized for the management of its relationship with customer Scott Tucker, a payday lender who was convicted of racketeering and other charges.

Also on Dec. 5, the Fed terminated a cease-and-desist order with JPMorgan Chase related to BSA/AML compliance at the company’s various subsidiaries. The 2013 enforcement action was issued on Jan. 14, 2013, the same day that the Fed filed a separate cease-and-desist order against JPMorgan for the so-called London Whale scandal.

Additionally, the Fed terminated a 2012 written agreement with the $625 million-asset Spirit BankCorp in Bristow, Okla. The agreement had restricted Spirit’s ability to pay dividends to shareholders and required it to develop a plan to improve its capital ratios and take other actions. The Fed lifted the order on Dec. 5.