The second-largest U.S. bank faces record penalties for failing to comply with sanctions and money laundering laws.
Published On 14 Oct 2026
The U.S. Treasury Department has imposed over $1.21 billion in penalties against Bank of America, the second-largest bank in the United States, for violating anti-money laundering and sanctions regulations.
The fines, announced on Tuesday, represent the third-largest penalty in the department’s history, according to the U.S. Treasury.
“When a bank of this size fails to meet its anti-money laundering and sanctions obligations, the consequences extend far beyond its own walls, exposing the entire U.S. financial system to significant illicit finance risks,” said U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. He emphasized that these actions “send a clear message that even the biggest financial institutions are not above the law.”
Enforcement Actions
According to the Treasury Department, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) assessed a $1.2 billion penalty related to Bank of America’s failure to address and report priority national security risks, including Chinese money laundering networks and illicit financial activity along the southwest border.
The deficiencies identified by FinCEN involved shortcomings in the bank’s suspicious transaction identification and reporting systems, as well as customer due diligence procedures. The Treasury noted that “the Bank effectively outsourced to third parties a substantial portion of its proactive detection and reporting obligations.”
Additionally, the Treasury stated that “Bank of America failed to timely report to FinCEN over $5 billion dollars in suspicious transactions.”
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) imposed a separate $750 million fine—the largest in its history—for the bank’s inadequate anti-money laundering compliance program. FinCEN’s $1.2 billion penalty includes credit for the OCC fine.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) also announced an $11.6 million settlement agreement concerning apparent violations of various sanctions programs, including those targeting Iran, Russia, narcotics trafficking, and global terrorism.
Bank of America agreed to resolve 475 apparent sanctions violations, with the settlement including “significant compliance commitments regarding training, testing and audit, and future communication and cooperation with OFAC.”
The Treasury highlighted that these actions “underscore the importance of effectively complying” with U.S. anti-money laundering and sanctions requirements.
In response, Bank of America acknowledged the seriousness of the matter: “Financial crime compliance is serious, and we are responsible for getting it right.” The bank added that it has “invested billions of dollars in technology and dedicated thousands of employees to combat financial crime,” and expressed commitment to completing the remedial work outlined by regulators.
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