Bank of America Hit With $1,200,000,000 in Penalties After Failing To Report Over $5,000,000,000 in Suspicious Transactions

Bank of America has been hit with more than $1.2 billion in federal penalties after regulators said it failed for years to flag over $5 billion in suspicious transactions.

More than $1 billion of that unreported activity involved national security and other high-priority risks, including Chinese money-laundering networks and activity tied to the southwest border, reports CNBC.

As part of the settlement, the bank admitted it willfully violated the Bank Secrecy Act by failing to keep a compliant anti-money laundering program, vet foreign correspondent accounts and file suspicious activity reports, according to the Treasury Department.

The Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) says the penalty is the third-largest in the department’s history.

The total includes a $750 million civil money penalty from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the largest the agency has ever imposed.

The OCC says the bank also failed to fix its deficiencies under a cease-and-desist order it signed in 2024.

Treasury says the bank “prioritized its revenues” and leaned so heavily on tips from law enforcement and other banks that it effectively outsourced part of its job of spotting suspicious activity.

Says Comptroller of the Currency Jonathan Gould,

“The bank’s poor response to its BSA deficiencies is unacceptable.”

Treasury also announced a separate $11.6 million settlement with the bank over sanctions violations.

Bank of America says the penalties will lead to a $1.2 billion non-tax-deductible charge in its third-quarter results, cutting net income by about 17 cents per share.

The bank must also hire a third party to look back for suspicious transactions it missed.

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