Yesterday, The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) issued a cease and desist order against TD Bank, N.A. and TD Bank USA, N.A., and imposed a substantial $450 million civil money penalty due to significant deficiencies in the bank’s compliance with the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) and anti-money laundering (AML) regulations. In addition to the monetary penalty, the OCC has restricted the bank’s growth and mandated that it allocate resources to rectify its compliance failures promptly.
Acting Comptroller of the Currency Michael J. Hsu emphasized the seriousness of the bank’s shortcomings, stating that TD Bank’s focus on expansion over compliance led to its involvement in facilitating the laundering of substantial sums of money. The OCC found that the bank’s BSA/AML program lacked the necessary safeguards to monitor and assure compliance effectively, with critical failures in areas such as internal controls, risk assessments, customer due diligence, and the identification and reporting of suspicious activities.
This enforcement action by the OCC aligns with concurrent actions taken by the Department of Justice, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. The penalty will be directed to the U.S. Treasury, underscoring the government’s commitment to maintaining robust financial compliance standards.
You can find the OCC’s announcement here.