Bank of America Hit With $1.2B AML Fine

The U.S. Treasury Department on Tuesday, October 13, 2026, imposed more than $1.2 billion in penalties on Bank of America for allegedly violating anti-money laundering and sanctions laws. The penalty is the third-largest in Treasury history and includes a $750 million civil fine from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the largest in that agency's history. Regulators said the bank failed to timely report more than $5 billion in suspicious transactions, including activity allegedly tied to Chinese money-laundering networks, fraud, and illicit finance near the southwestern border. Bank of America reached an $11.6 million settlement with the Office of Foreign Assets Control over apparent sanctions violations involving Iran, Russia, narcotics, and global terrorism programs. A consent order requires the bank to work with an outside firm to identify and report missed suspicious transactions. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said, "When a bank of this size fails to meet its anti-money laundering and sanctions obligations, the consequences extend far beyond its own walls, exposing the entire U.S. financial system to significant illicit finance risks." He also said, "Today's actions send a clear message that even the biggest financial institutions are not above the law."