Bank of America hit with nearly $2 billion in US penalties after US regulators accused the lender of serious anti-money laundering and sanctions compliance failures. FinCEN, the OCC and OFAC cited suspicious transaction monitoring gaps, reporting failures and sanctions violations.
Bank of America AML failures
US regulators have imposed penalties totaling nearly $2 billion on Bank of America after identifying major weaknesses in its anti-money laundering controls and compliance systems.
The US Treasury Department said the bank failed to properly detect and report billions of dollars in suspicious transactions. Officials said some activity raised national security concerns, including transactions allegedly connected to Chinese money laundering networks and illicit finance near the US-Mexico border.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said large financial institutions remain responsible for complying with federal financial crime laws and warned that weak controls can expose the wider banking system to illicit finance risks.
FinCEN $1.2 billion penalty
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network imposed the largest part of the enforcement action, assessing a $1.2 billion penalty against Bank of America.
FinCEN said the bank failed to identify and report more than $5 billion in suspicious transactions. Regulators have also required the lender to work with an independent third party to identify transactions that may previously have escaped detection.
The bank must strengthen suspicious activity reports, customer due diligence and transaction-monitoring systems as part of the corrective measures.
OCC $750 million fine
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency imposed a separate $750 million civil penalty, citing serious and continuing weaknesses in the bank's compliance programme.
Bank of America had already been operating under a December 2024 cease-and-desist order related to deficiencies in its anti-money laundering programme and Bank Secrecy Act compliance. Regulators said the latest action reflected concerns that those problems had not been addressed quickly enough.
The OCC also ordered an independent review of the bank's suspicious transaction monitoring and compliance procedures.
OFAC sanctions settlement
The Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control announced an additional $11.6 million settlement involving apparent violations of several US sanctions programmes.
The cases involved restrictions connected to Iran, Russia, narcotics trafficking and global terrorism. OFAC enforcement highlights the broader compliance challenge banks face when transactions move across jurisdictions and involve customers, intermediaries or entities subject to US restrictions.
Suspicious transaction monitoring
Bank of America said it would continue cooperating with federal and local law enforcement while improving its compliance systems. The lender expects the regulatory action to reduce quarterly net income, while its shares fell 2.6% in after-hours trading following the announcement.
The case adds pressure on major US banks to invest more heavily in automated transaction monitoring, human compliance teams and stronger internal controls. For investors, the immediate focus will be on how quickly Bank of America addresses the deficiencies and whether the additional oversight affects costs, earnings and future regulatory exposure.
