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The OCC ordered American Express National Bank to pay a $350 million civil money penalty and issued a cease-and-desist order over deficiencies in its Bank Secrecy Act and anti-money-laundering program. The Federal Reserve also issued an enforcement action against American Express Company and American Express Travel Related Services Company. AmEx says it has been working with regulators to strengthen controls, but regulators’ orders require the company and bank to address the identified weaknesses.
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and the Federal Reserve issued enforcement actions against American Express entities on October 8, including a $350 million civil penalty against American Express National Bank, after identifying weaknesses in anti-money-laundering controls. The actions address shortcomings in monitoring and reporting suspicious activity and in implementing compliance programs intended to detect financial crime.
The OCC said it issued a cease-and-desist order and the $350 million penalty against American Express National Bank after finding that the bank had failed to establish and maintain an adequate program under the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) and anti-money-laundering (AML) rules. The agency described three areas of concern: insufficient resources for the program, risk assessments that were not adequately tailored to the bank’s business activities, and systemic breakdowns in suspicious-activity monitoring and reporting.
The Federal Reserve separately issued an enforcement action addressing the company’s failure to sufficiently detect and report suspicious activity related to money laundering, along with deficiencies in how its enterprise-wide AML program was implemented. The Fed’s cease-and-desist order names American Express Company and American Express Travel Related Services Company. The source material does not specify a separate monetary penalty imposed by the Fed.
American Express said the regulators’ reviews had been disclosed previously. Chairman and CEO Stephen J. Squeri said the company takes its financial-crime responsibilities seriously and is committed to addressing the regulators’ concerns. He said AmEx has spent the past several years working with regulators to strengthen controls and with law enforcement to provide information about transactions in which people misused its products.
Regulators Target AmEx Compliance Controls
The orders put the effectiveness of American Express’s financial-crime controls under formal regulatory scrutiny and require the named entities to address deficiencies identified by two federal banking regulators. AML systems are intended to help banks and financial firms identify and report activity that may involve money laundering. Weaknesses in monitoring or reporting can limit regulators’ and law enforcement agencies’ ability to investigate suspicious transactions.
The OCC’s stated concerns extend beyond a single missed report: they include staffing and resourcing, how risks are assessed across the bank’s activities, and systemic problems in monitoring and reporting. That combination matters because a compliance program depends on adequate personnel and processes as well as systems that can identify activity requiring review. The regulators’ actions do not, by themselves, establish that every transaction flagged by those systems involved criminal conduct.
The $350 million OCC penalty is a direct financial consequence for the bank, while the cease-and-desist orders impose regulatory obligations on the entities named. The available source does not provide the detailed terms, compliance deadlines, or any findings about specific customers or transactions. The case therefore signals serious supervisory concerns without establishing further details beyond those set out in the agencies’ announcements.
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Separate Orders Name AmEx Entities
The actions announced October 8 involve different American Express entities and come from regulators with separate roles. The OCC’s order and penalty apply to American Express National Bank. The Federal Reserve’s action names American Express Company and American Express Travel Related Services Company, addressing the company’s broader program and its handling of suspicious activity.
According to the company, the regulators’ reviews were previously disclosed. Squeri said American Express has been working with regulators over the past several years to strengthen controls. He also said the company has cooperated with law enforcement by providing information about transactions in which individuals misused its products. The statement does not give dates for those efforts or describe specific changes already completed.
The OCC characterized its action as a response to the bank’s failure to maintain an adequate BSA/AML program. Comptroller of the Currency Jonathan Gould said the agency expects banks of American Express’s size and complexity to devote sufficient resources to compliance. His remarks link the enforcement action to regulators’ expectations for institutions handling substantial financial activity, while the order itself identifies the bank-specific shortcomings the OCC cited.
“While we have made meaningful progress, we know there is more work to do.”
— American Express Chairman and CEO Stephen J. Squeri, in a company statement
Order Terms and Remediation Details
The available announcements do not spell out the specific remediation steps American Express must take, any deadlines for completing them, or how regulators will measure progress. They also do not identify particular suspicious transactions, explain how long each weakness persisted, or state whether individual customers or employees were implicated.
The source material gives the OCC’s $350 million penalty but does not describe a separate fine tied to the Federal Reserve’s action. It is also unclear from the material whether the regulators will publish additional findings or detailed compliance requirements. Those points should not be inferred from the existence of the orders alone.
AmEx Must Address Regulatory Findings
American Express says it will continue working with the banking regulators and law enforcement and strengthen its Financial Crimes Compliance program. The bank and company entities named in the orders are expected to respond to the regulators’ requirements, but the source material does not provide a timetable or describe the required steps in detail.
Further developments may clarify how the company will address gaps in resourcing, risk assessment, suspicious-activity monitoring, and reporting. Until the agencies or American Express disclose those details, the extent and pace of remediation remain unconfirmed. The immediate confirmed actions are the OCC’s order and penalty against the bank and the Federal Reserve’s separate enforcement action against the named company entities.
Key Questions
Who was fined $350 million?
The OCC imposed the $350 million civil money penalty on American Express National Bank, alongside a cease-and-desist order.
What problems did the OCC identify?
The OCC cited insufficient program resources, risk assessments not adequately tailored to the bank’s business activities, and systemic breakdowns in monitoring and reporting suspicious activity.
Which entities are named in the Federal Reserve action?
The Federal Reserve’s cease-and-desist order names American Express Company and American Express Travel Related Services Company.
Did the Federal Reserve announce another fine?
The source material describes a Federal Reserve enforcement action but does not state that the Fed imposed a separate monetary penalty. The $350 million fine is attributed to the OCC and applies to American Express National Bank.
What does American Express say it will do?
CEO Stephen J. Squeri said American Express would continue cooperating with regulators and law enforcement and keep working to strengthen its Financial Crimes Compliance program.
Source: rss
