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Bank of America Hit With Over $1.21 Billion in Treasury Penalties Over AML and Sanctions Failures
The US Treasury announced over $1.21 billion in coordinated penalties against Bank of America: a $1.2 billion FinCEN fine (third-largest in Treasury history), the largest OCC penalty ever at $750 million, and an $11.6 million OFAC sanctions settlement; the bank admitted willfully violating the Bank Secrecy Act, failing to report $5 billion in suspicious transactions.
Why it matters
This is the third-largest penalty in Treasury history and the largest ever from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, as well as the biggest anti-money-laundering fine the Trump administration's Treasury has imposed on a major bank. America's second-largest bank admitting it acted "willfully" sets a marker for compliance standards across the US financial system.
The breakdown
On October 13, the Treasury Department announced: the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) assessed a $1.2 billion penalty against Bank of America for failing to mitigate and report priority national security risks, including Chinese money laundering networks and illicit finance along the southwest border. The OCC concurrently assessed a $750 million civil money penalty — the largest in its 163-year history — for a deficient BSA/AML compliance program; the amount is credited against FinCEN's assessment rather than added to it. The Office of Foreign Assets Control announced a separate $11.6 million settlement covering 475 apparent sanctions violations tied to Russia, Iran, narcotics and global terrorism.
Admissions
Treasury said Bank of America admitted it willfully violated the Bank Secrecy Act, failed to maintain an AML program meeting minimum legal requirements, failed to conduct due diligence on correspondent accounts for foreign financial institutions, and failed to file mandatory Suspicious Activity Reports. The bank failed to report more than $5 billion in suspicious activity, with over $1 billion tied to priority national-security risks. "Even the biggest financial institutions are not above the law," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said.
Sources
FinCEN official press release (Oct 13, 2026); Banking Dive; CNN.
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