How Bank of America's $1.2B Penalty Ranks Among Biggest Fines Ever
Summary
Bank of America has been fined $1.2 billion by U.S. federal regulators for not reporting over $5 billion in suspicious transactions. This penalty is one of the largest ever issued by the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), related to failures in anti-money laundering rules.Key Facts
- Bank of America failed to report suspicious transactions potentially connected to Chinese money laundering and illegal finance near the U.S.-Mexico border.
- The $1.2 billion fine is the third-largest penalty in FinCEN’s history.
- Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent highlighted the broader risks this failure posed to the U.S. financial system.
- The bank was found to have willfully violated the Bank Secrecy Act, a law requiring banks to guard against money laundering.
- The Treasury Department also fined Bank of America $11.6 million for sanctions violations involving Iran and Russia.
- The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency imposed a $750 million penalty, but this amount counts toward the $1.2 billion fine, not in addition to it.
- Previous large bank fines, such as Bank of America’s $16.65 billion settlement in 2014, included various issues like mortgage securities misconduct.
- The current penalty warns of ongoing efforts to enforce anti-money laundering and sanctions compliance in major banks.
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