OCC Fines American Express National Bank $350 Million Over AML Failures
Federal regulators hit American Express National Bank with a $350M penalty and cease-and-desist order for Bank Secrecy Act compliance failures.
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency levied a $350 million civil money penalty against American Express National Bank, headquartered in Sandy, Utah, citing significant deficiencies in the bank's anti-money laundering and Bank Secrecy Act compliance programs, the agency announced Wednesday.
Alongside the substantial fine, the OCC issued a cease-and-desist order against the institution, a formal enforcement tool that compels the bank to address identified shortcomings under regulatory supervision. Such orders typically require a bank to implement remediation plans and submit to ongoing oversight until examiners determine the deficiencies have been corrected.
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Bank Secrecy Act obligations require financial institutions to detect and report suspicious activity that could indicate money laundering, fraud, or other financial crimes. Lapses in these compliance frameworks draw particular scrutiny from federal banking regulators, who view robust AML controls as a cornerstone of the broader financial system's integrity.
The penalty ranks among the more significant AML-related enforcement actions taken against a major U.S. card-issuing bank in recent years, underscoring the OCC's continued emphasis on holding institutions accountable for compliance failures. American Express National Bank operates as a federally chartered subsidiary of the broader American Express financial services organization.
Continue reading at OCC News.
