Bank of America is facing more than $1.21 billion in penalties after U.S. regulators found widespread failures in its anti-money laundering and sanctions compliance systems.
The U.S. Department of the Treasury announced the enforcement actions on Tuesday, October 13, 2026, describing the case as the third-largest penalty in Treasury history and the largest ever imposed by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.
The action comes one day before Bank of America is scheduled to release its third-quarter 2026 financial results.
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What regulators found
Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, or FinCEN, assessed a $1.2-billion penalty against the bank for failing to identify, investigate and report suspicious transactions required under the Bank Secrecy Act.
According to Treasury, Bank of America failed to report more than $5 billion in suspicious activity to FinCEN.
More than $1 billion of that activity involved national-security and other priority risks, including suspected Chinese money-laundering networks, fraud and potential trade-based money laundering connected to the U.S. southwest border.
Regulators said the bank’s internal systems allowed suspicious activity to remain uninvestigated for extended periods and resulted in reports being filed late or with limited usefulness to law enforcement.
The findings also involved customer due-diligence failures.
Treasury said the bank did not respond promptly to warning signs involving customers who received payments from unknown third parties, including red flags linked to possible narcotics proceeds and trade-based money laundering.
OCC imposes largest penalty in its history
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency imposed a separate $750-million civil money penalty for what it called a deficient and ineffective Bank Secrecy Act and anti-money laundering program.
The OCC said Bank of America’s transaction-monitoring system failed to properly monitor trillions of dollars in transactions.
The breakdown contributed to large numbers of late suspicious activity reports involving billions of dollars.
The regulator also criticized the bank’s staffing, training and audit functions.
It said key compliance personnel lacked sufficient expertise, while internal audits failed to identify longstanding problems later uncovered by examiners.
The OCC said Bank of America remained subject to a December 2024 cease-and-desist order requiring the bank to fix weaknesses in its compliance program.
Regulators said significant deficiencies continued more than a year after that order.
The OCC penalty will be paid to the U.S. Treasury.
The agency said its action was coordinated with the FinCEN penalty, which credits the OCC assessment so the same conduct is not penalized twice.
Sanctions settlement covers 475 transactions
The Treasury Department also announced an $11.6-million settlement with the Office of Foreign Assets Control, known as OFAC.
The settlement covers 475 apparent violations involving sanctions programs connected to Russia, Belarus, Iran, Burma, Somalia, narcotics and global terrorism.
Regulators said Bank of America processed some correspondent-banking payments through blocked banks, allowed designated individuals to make payments or withdrawals, failed to update watchlists promptly and mishandled accounts linked to blocked persons.
The apparent violations involved millions of dollars in payments.
OFAC described the conduct as non-egregious but said the bank had not voluntarily disclosed most of the violations and would receive no reduction to the base penalty for remedial measures or cooperation.
What Bank of America must do next
As part of the FinCEN resolution, Bank of America must work with an outside party to conduct a lookback review of transactions that may have gone undetected because of the compliance failures.
The bank must also undergo independent reviews of its suspicious-activity monitoring, customer due diligence, foreign correspondent-account controls and data-governance framework.
The reviews will focus on risks involving the U.S. southwest border, cartels and potential narcotics trafficking, as well as Iran and Russia.
OFAC separately required commitments involving sanctions training, testing, audits and future communication with the agency.
Why the enforcement matters
Bank of America is the second-largest bank in the United States and a globally systemically important financial institution.
Regulators said its size, international reach and transaction volumes increase the potential impact of compliance failures.
The enforcement action also underscores that banks cannot rely on referrals from law enforcement or other financial institutions as a substitute for effective internal monitoring.
For customers, the penalties do not by themselves indicate that ordinary deposit accounts or debit cards have been frozen.
The orders are directed primarily at the bank’s compliance systems, reporting obligations and internal controls.
However, the required reviews could lead to additional account scrutiny, transaction-monitoring changes or requests for updated customer information as the bank works to identify previously missed risks.
Bank of America earnings due October 14
The regulatory action arrives shortly before Bank of America’s third-quarter 2026 earnings release, scheduled for approximately 6:45 a.m. Eastern time on Wednesday, October 14.
The company is expected to discuss the results during an investor conference call beginning at 8:30 a.m. Eastern time.
Investors will likely look for information about the penalties, possible accounting treatment, remediation costs and the effect of the enforcement actions on the bank’s broader operations, including the impact of interest rates.
The penalties are separate from the bank’s scheduled quarterly financial reporting.
Any further financial impact will depend on the company’s disclosures and the terms of the regulatory orders.
For now, the central issue is whether Bank of America can demonstrate lasting improvements after regulators concluded that serious anti-money laundering weaknesses continued despite earlier supervisory action.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why was Bank of America fined more than $1.21 billion?
U.S. regulators said the bank failed to maintain effective anti-money laundering controls, report suspicious activity promptly and comply with sanctions requirements.
Which agencies penalized Bank of America?
FinCEN assessed $1.2 billion, the OCC imposed $750 million, and OFAC reached an $11.6-million sanctions settlement.
Did Bank of America fail to report suspicious transactions?
Treasury said the bank failed to timely report more than $5 billion in suspicious transactions, including more than $1 billion involving priority risks.
Will the penalties affect Bank of America customers?
The orders primarily target compliance systems and internal controls, but some customers could face additional monitoring or requests for updated information.
When will Bank of America release its next earnings report?
Bank of America scheduled its third-quarter 2026 results for approximately 6:45 a.m. Eastern time on Wednesday, October 14, 2026.
Fact-Checked: Key penalty amounts, regulatory findings, required remediation steps and earnings timing were checked against U.S. Treasury, OCC and Bank of America investor-relations information.
Disclaimer: This article reports regulatory allegations and enforcement findings and is not financial or legal advice.