Amex Dinged by Fed, OCC; Must Pay $350M for AML Failures
Regulators said systemic monitoring failures let about $13 billion in suspected trade-based laundering go unreported over the past decade.
- On Thursday, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Reserve Board issued enforcement actions against American Express, imposing a $350 million penalty for anti-money laundering program failures.
- Regulators cited "systemic breakdowns" in monitoring processes that resulted in failure to report approximately $13 billion of suspected money laundering activity over the past 10 years.
- Amex's national bank subsidiary focused excessively on "relatively narrow" demand deposit products while neglecting risks in its "more dominant" credit and charge card offerings, the Fed said.
- Amex chief executive Steve Squeri stated the firm identified compliance improvements through internal reviews, and the penalty will not impact full-year 2026 guidance previously issued.
- The significant penalty contrasts with President Donald Trump's broader deregulatory drive, under which watchdogs have reduced oversight requirements for large financial institutions.
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American Express Just Got Fined $350 Million for Missing $13 Billion in Suspicious Activity
American Express just agreed to a nine-figure penalty over a decade-long compliance failure, but the market's muted reaction tells a more complicated story about what the settlement actually costs the company and its shareholders.
US banking regulators have fined financial services company American Express $350 million for serious weaknesses in the company's anti-money laundering protection systems, saying the company failed to report nearly $13 billion worth of suspicious transactions over a decade.
American Express fined $350 million over anti-money laundering compliance failures
American Express received a fine of $350 million due to failures in their anti-money laundering compliance programs. The US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Reserve announced this enforcement action. The company reportedly failed to identify and report suspicious activities, amounting to roughly $13 billion over the past decade. Specifically, their customer due diligence practices and identification measures were deemed …
The American Express received a fine of $350 million due to "critical deficiencies" in its compliance program, which led it not to detect about $13 billion in suspicious money laundering activities over more than a decade. Exclusive material for subscribers. To have full access, access the link of the subject and register.
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