First posted on Instagram · @profilopolitics
The Treasury Department announced the enforcement package on Tuesday against the nation's second-largest bank. FinCEN assessed a $1.2 billion penalty — the third-largest in Treasury history — which includes the OCC's $750 million civil money penalty, the largest that regulator has ever imposed. The Office of Foreign Assets Control settled separately for $11.6 million over 475 apparent sanctions violations.
"Financial institutions are on the front lines of protecting our economic and national security. Today's actions send a clear message that even the biggest financial institutions are not above the law." — Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent
The case is sweeping. Bank of America admitted it willfully violated the Bank Secrecy Act, failing to report more than $5 billion in suspicious transactions. More than $1 billion of that activity carried national-security risk — Chinese money-laundering networks, cartel-linked finance along the southwest border, fraud and trade-based laundering. The bank also skipped required due diligence on correspondent accounts held for foreign banks. On sanctions, Treasury says that between September 2021 and April 2025 the bank processed over $14.3 million in payments through 35 blocked banks tied to Russia, Iran, Burma and Somalia, as well as drug traffickers and terrorist organizations — and that it acted recklessly after repeated cautionary letters. Regulators say the bank put revenue ahead of compliance and leaned on third parties instead of its own monitoring.
The bank's side: a spokesperson said Bank of America has invested billions in compliance and is far along in fixing the problems regulators raised, adding that "financial crime compliance is serious, and we are responsible for getting it right." The penalties will land as a $1.2 billion charge in its third-quarter results — about 17 cents a share — announced one day before the bank reports earnings.
The action follows a December 2024 cease-and-desist order the bank failed to fully fix, and it is the largest anti-money-laundering action this administration has taken against a major bank. Bessent's message to Wall Street is the one in the post: take suspicious activity seriously, follow federal law, and answer for violations when regulators establish them — even the biggest names in banking can face consequences.
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