US-based bank holding company Apple Bank for Savings has reportedly agreed to pay $12.5m in fine for non-compliance to an anti-money laundering (AML) act.
The penalty was imposed by the banking regulator, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported.
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FDIC slapped Apple Bank with the fine as the latter failed to comply with the Bank Secrecy Act.
The watchdog said that Apple Bank violated the act between April 2014 and September 2018 and has now agreed to settle the regulator’s claim.
FDIC issued this order in December last year, which went public on Friday, 29 January 2021, the report added.
This order comes after FDIC’s 2015 consent order, in which the New York-based was ordered to improve its AML compliance programme.
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By GlobalDataThe 2015 order required the lender to recruit qualified compliance professionals, conduct an AML risk assessment, and create an internal controls system to comply with the Bank Secrecy Act.
The regulator said that the bank failed to comply in a timely fashion, and the latest penalty was imposed after considering the bank’s history of prior violations.
Apple Bank has several branches across New York. The chartered institution said it was committed to cooperate with the regulators.
According to the WSJ report, Apple Bank invested huge amount of resources to address the FDIC’s 2015 order.
Without admitting or denying FDIC’s claims, the lender consented to both orders.
In a statement, Apple Bank said: “Apple Bank’s enhancements to its compliance programme have been acknowledged by the FDIC and reflect the bank’s commitment to providing superior service to the customers and communities it serves in New York, while maintaining a compliance programme that complies with applicable statutory and regulatory requirements.”
Recently, the Central Bank of the UAE imposed fines on 11 banks for AML non-compliance.
Last month, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) slapped a £26m fine on Barclays Bank for mistreating customers in financial distress.
