InfoBytes Blog
Federal Reserve Issues Consent Order to Bank for BSA/AML Compliance Deficiencies
On December 14, the Federal Reserve Board (Fed) entered into a consent order with an international bank regarding alleged deficiencies in the bank’s New York branch (Branch) Bank Secrecy Act and other anti-money laundering (BSA/AML) compliance and risk management. The consent order also relates to a 2009 written agreement among the bank, the Branch and the predecessor of the New York State Department of Financial Services, which cited BSA/AML compliance and risk management deficiencies identified by examiners in regards to the Branch’s correspondent banking services and U.S. dollar funds transfer clearing. In 2016, a Fed examination found that the bank and the Branch had not achieved full compliance with the requirements in the 2009 agreement.
The 2017 order, among other things, requires the bank and Branch to submit a written governance plan to achieve compliance with BSA/AML requirements, and to engage an independent third party acceptable to the Fed to conduct and report on a comprehensive review of Branch’s BSA/AML compliance. Within 60 days of the report findings, the bank and Branch must submit an enhanced compliance program plan, an enhanced customer due diligence program plan, and a program to ensure accurate suspicious activity monitoring and reporting.