The United States fined Bank of America for $1.21 billion

The US Treasury Department has imposed fines totaling more than $1.21 billion on Bank of America for violations of anti-money laundering legislation and compliance with the sanctions regime. This was announced on October 13 by the press service of the department on its website.

According to the ministry, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has fined the bank $1.2 billion for failing to identify and promptly report suspicious financial transactions. In particular, we are talking about transactions related to Chinese money laundering networks and illegal financial flows in the area of the southwestern border of the United States.

"When a bank of this magnitude fails to meet its anti—money laundering and sanctions compliance obligations, the consequences go far beyond it, exposing the entire U.S. financial system to significant risks of illicit financing," said U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

During the investigation, it was found that Bank of America did not provide timely information about suspicious transactions in excess of $ 5 billion. At the same time, more than $1 billion of this amount accounted for transactions potentially related to threats to national security and other priority financial risks. The bank admitted intentional violations of the American Banking Secrecy Act.

In addition, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) imposed a fine of $750 million on the financial organization due to deficiencies in the anti-money laundering system.

Separately, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) entered into an agreement with the bank to settle claims for $11.6 million. The grounds were 475 alleged violations of sanctions programs, as well as those related to drug trafficking and international terrorism.

According to OFAC, the violations occurred, among other things, due to payment processing involving blocked banks, late updating of sanctions lists and errors in customer verification.

Bank of America said it is cooperating with regulatory authorities to address the identified deficiencies. According to the Associated Press, the bank also announced multibillion-dollar investments in technologies to counter financial crimes.

The US Treasury Department noted that the fines imposed were the third largest in the history of the department.

The US Federal Reserve raised its key interest rate for the first time in three years

On September 16, the US Federal Reserve System (FRS) raised the interest rate on federal loan funds by 25 basis points for the first time since 2023. Now the rate range is 3.75–4% per annum. The decision of the American regulator coincided with the forecasts of most analysts and market participants. All 12 FOMC members voted in favor of tightening monetary policy.