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Regulators Issued Fewer AML Fines in 2014, But Packed a Bigger Punch

By Colby Adams, Kira Zalan and Irene Madongo

Sometimes a decline in bank enforcement actions isn't a good thing, even for bankers. Such is the takeaway of a review of enforcement action data spanning back five years, during which the number of formal Bank Secrecy Act penalties fell nearly 20 percent while fines and regulatory demands grew. In 2014, the U.S. Treasury Department, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC), and Federal Reserve Board issued 45 enforcement actions for anti-money laundering (AML) infractions, an 11 percent drop from the 2013 total, according to data reviewed by ACAMS moneylaundering.com. The ongoing annual decline in the number of AML-related regulatory orders was...

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