Bank of America pays $1.2bn over weak money-laundering controls (opens the source in a new tab)
- US regulators fined Bank of America about $1.2bn after finding weak systems for spotting and reporting financial crime, including money laundering by Chinese underground bankers and suspicious activity near the southwest border.
- Officials say the bank failed to report more than $5bn of suspicious activity, and that tests ordered after a 2024 Treasury order exposed further gaps.
- The bank says it has spent billions on compliance and will book a $1.2bn non-deductible charge in Wednesday’s third-quarter results; shares slipped in after-hours trading.
- $1.2bn
- penalty on the bank
- $5bn+
- suspicious activity unreported
Why it matters A compliance failure now costs enough to dent quarterly earnings, so expect banks to keep spending on screening and surveillance, and to be pickier about risky clients.
Other side The bank says it has worked with regulators for years and spent billions on controls, and criminal networks adapt faster than supervisors, so some failures may reflect an arms race rather than neglect.