InfoBytes Blog
OCC releases recent enforcement actions
On July 20, the OCC released a list of recent enforcement actions taken against national banks, federal savings associations, and individuals currently and formerly affiliated with such entities. The new enforcement actions include cease and desist orders, civil money penalty orders, removal/prohibition orders, and terminations of existing enforcement actions. Two of the more notable actions by the OCC covered in this report are discussed below.
On May 31, the OCC issued a consent order against an international investment bank’s federal branches located in Stamford, Miami, and New York, which identified alleged deficiencies in the branches’ Bank Secrecy Act/Anti-Money Laundering (BSA/AML) compliance programs. The alleged deficiencies include failure to adopt and implement adequate BSA/AML compliance programs and failure to file timely Suspicious Activity Reports. Among other things, the consent order requires the branches to (i) develop and implement an ongoing BSA/AML risk assessment program; (ii) adopt an independent audit program to conduct a review of the bank’s BSA/AML compliance program; (iii) submit a written progress report within 30 days after the end of each calendar quarter that details actions undertaken to ensure compliance with the consent order’s provisions; and (iii) ensure each branch has permanent, experienced BSA officers responsible for compliance functions. The bank has neither admitted nor denied the OCC’s findings, and a civil money penalty was not assessed against the branches.
In addition, on June 18 the OCC issued an order terminating a 2016 consent order against a national bank following the OCC’s determination that the bank had successfully completed the consent order’s requirements for complying with provisions of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act.