The U.S. Treasury Department announced on Tuesday that Bank of America has been assessed over $1.2 billion in penalties for alleged violations of anti-money laundering and sanctions regulations. The nation’s second-largest bank admitted to willfully breaching Bank Secrecy Act rules and neglected to file timely reports on more than $5 billion in suspicious transactions, according to Treasury officials.
A significant portion of the financial penalty, totaling $750 million, was imposed by the Treasury’s Office of the Comptroller of the Currency as a civil money penalty. This amount is included within the broader $1.2 billion total. Additionally, the Treasury revealed a separate $11.6 million settlement related to sanctions violations.
The regulatory action highlights longstanding deficiencies in the bank’s compliance systems. The penalties come as the bank prepares to release its quarterly earnings figures on October 14.
Does this penalty amount seem like a mere cost of doing business to big banks? Hard to believe it changes their behavior.
Willfully breaching rules? I’m shocked they got away with ignoring $5 billion in suspicious activity for so long.
$1.2 billion is steep, but does it actually hurt everyday customers or just shareholder wallets?