Federal Reserve Board Requires AML Enhancements Prior to Bank Merger

Federal Reserve Anti-Money Laundering Bank Secrecy Act

On June 18, the Federal Reserve Board announced the execution of a written agreement with a bank and its bank and non-bank subsidiaries to resolve alleged shortcomings in the institutions’ BSA/AML compliance programs. The bank previously announced that its planned merger with another institution was delayed due to the Federal Reserve Board’s concerns. The bank retained a consultant to assist with compliance enhancements, which under the written agreement include, among other things: (i) a revised firm-wide written BSA/AML compliance program, (ii) a revised written customer due diligence program, (iii) a written suspicious activity monitoring and reporting program, and (iv) a six month suspicious activity look-back review.