# Bank of America Hit With $1.21 Billion Anti-Money Laundering Penalty US regulators penalize the second-largest bank for widespread compliance monitoring failures. - **Source:** [mint - industry](https://www.livemint.com/rss/industry) - **Published:** 2026-10-14 - **Topic:** [Business](https://brifing.si/c/business) - **Original article:** - **On Brifing:** https://brifing.si/s/b78a9537-be9a-4c35-ab1a-ae25fd21a43c ## Record Penalties Imposed US regulators fined Bank of America $1.21 billion for failing to detect illicit financial activity and monitor transactions. FinCEN assessed a $1.2 billion fine, crediting the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's record $750 million penalty. The bank also paid $11.6 million to OFAC for sanctions violations. ## Severe Systemic Failures The Treasury Department revealed that Bank of America failed to report over $5 billion in suspicious activity, including $1 billion tied to national security risks. Regulators stated the bank prioritized revenue over compliance, overly relying on external law enforcement inquiries instead of establishing proper internal monitoring and automated controls. ## Massive Backlog and Omissions Internal management reports showed the bank skipped filing suspicious activity reports on 18% to 44% of flagged activity between 2019 and 2023. The review backlog peaked at nearly 200,000 cases in 2024. Additionally, roughly 33,300 outgoing wire transfers totaling $1 billion transmitted inaccurate sender data. ## Credit Portfolio Scrutiny Regulators found serious gaps across diverse banking segments beyond standard retail checking accounts. OCC examiners sampled Bank of America's $102 billion credit card portfolio, initially flagging just 10 accounts. That focused review quickly exposed hundreds of millions of dollars in unreported, potentially illicit customer transactions. ## Sanctions Breaches Detailed The Office of Foreign Assets Control penalized Bank of America over more than 400 apparent sanctions violations. According to regulators, the bank erroneously processed millions of dollars in payments tied to heavily sanctioned jurisdictions, including Russia and Iran, underscoring critical deficiencies within its international screening operations. ## Immediate Earnings Hit The lender announced a non-tax-deductible charge of $1.2 billion for its third-quarter financial results, reducing net income by approximately 17 cents per share. Bank of America shares dropped 2.7% in after-hours trading, while analysts had previously estimated adjusted earnings per share of $1.10. ## Capital and Growth Outlook UBS analyst Erika Najarian warned the penalty could escalate operational expenses and pressure the bank's $6 billion quarterly share buyback program. Crucially, regulators did not impose an asset cap, sparing the second-largest US bank from the severe growth restrictions that previously hit competitors. ## Mandated Remediation Ahead Bank of America must hire an independent third party to review past unflagged transactions and submit delayed reports to FinCEN. This penalty follows a $350 million fine on American Express, reflecting a broader regulatory enforcement crackdown across major consumer-facing financial institutions and payment networks. ## Sources covering this story - [mint - industry — Bank of America Fined $1.21 Billion Over Anti-Money Laundering Deficiencies](https://www.livemint.com/industry/banking/bank-of-america-missed-5-billion-in-suspicious-activity-now-it-faces-a-1-21-billion-fine-for-money-laundering-11791938582025.html) - [The College Investor — Bank of America Fined $1.2 Billion Over Severe Anti-Money Laundering Deficiencies](https://thecollegeinvestor.com/90498/bank-of-america-to-pay-1-2-billion/) --- _Summary written by Brifing from the original reporting. Copyright in the original article belongs to its publisher; read the full piece at the link above._