OCC issues cease and desist order against Bank of America for BSA deficiencies

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has issued a cease-and-desist order against Bank of America (BAC) for deficiencies related to its Bank Secrecy Act and sanctions compliance programs. The OCC says it took this action based on violations and unsafe or unsound practices relating to these programs, including a failure to timely file suspicious activity reports and failure to correct a previously identified deficiency related to its Customer Due Diligence processes. The order also identifies deficiencies in the internal controls, governance, independent testing, and training components of the bank’s BSA compliance program. The order requires the bank to take comprehensive corrective actions to enhance its BSA/anti-money laundering and sanctions compliance programs, including the hiring of an independent consultant to assess the bank’s BSA/AML and sanctions compliance programs and conduct look-back reviews to ensure all suspicious activity was appropriately reported.