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The US Treasury Department announced on October 13, 2026, that Bank of America failed to report more than 5 billion dollars in suspicious activities, some of which involved national security risks including potential money laundering by Chinese underground banking networks and transactions near the southwest border. A Bloomberg report placed the total fines at 1.21 billion dollars, encompassing actions from multiple regulators. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency issued a 750 million dollar civil penalty, described by Reuters as the largest in its history.
According to the Treasury Department, the bank had prioritized revenue generation while relying excessively on external prompts from law enforcement and other institutions rather than developing comprehensive internal controls for compliance. Bank of America stated that the settlement will result in a 1.2 billion dollar charge to its third-quarter earnings, lowering earnings per share by 0.17 dollars. The consent order mandates that the lender retain an independent consultant to examine past transactions for previously undetected suspicious activity and submit corresponding reports to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.
This enforcement action builds upon a cease-and-desist order issued by the OCC in 2024 that had already identified deficiencies in the bank’s anti-money laundering program, which the regulator determined were not adequately remediated. An assessment by the OCC found that shortcomings in transaction monitoring systems led to significant delays in the submission of suspicious activity reports covering billions of dollars. Reuters noted that the violations also encompassed sanctions-related lapses.
A comparable penalty imposed on American Express earlier in October 2026 totaled 350 million dollars for similar shortcomings in its anti-money laundering controls that may have allowed billions in suspicious flows to go unreported, according to regulatory announcements compiled by Reuters. These cases highlight persistent industry-wide difficulties in maintaining effective programs as transaction volumes increase and threats evolve. The Wall Street Journal reported that officials viewed the bank’s approach as having outsourced key compliance responsibilities.
Bank of America has committed to enhanced oversight and system upgrades as part of the resolution, the Treasury Department said in its statement. The penalty ranks as the third largest of its kind in the history of the Treasury Department, a Reuters analysis showed. Multiple regulators coordinated on the action to address what they characterized as widespread compliance failures.
The enforcement underscores the emphasis placed by authorities on robust anti-money laundering frameworks across large financial institutions. Data from past enforcement actions indicate that cumulative penalties for Bank Secrecy Act violations have reached substantial levels in recent years. The bank will now undertake a comprehensive review of historical data to identify and report any additional suspicious transactions that were overlooked.
