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In Year of Fewer Enforcement Actions, Banks Remained Busy With Regulatory Orders

By Brian Monroe and Colby Adams

In a year when the number of enforcement actions issued by federal financial regulators fell by nearly half, Bank Secrecy Act-related penalties earned an unusual distinction. They declined by less than 14 percent. The U.S. Treasury Department, Federal Reserve Board and Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) handed down 51 enforcement actions last year for anti-money laundering (AML) violations, down from 59 in 2012. The regulators issued 205 actions for regulatory violations generally, including infractions of lending and capital requirements rules, a 48 percent drop from the previous year. The annual total for AML-related violations was the lowest since 2008, when...

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