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The U.S. Treasury Department has imposed more than $1.2 billion in penalties on Bank of America (BofA) for failing to meet anti-money laundering and sanctions requirements, including delays in reporting suspicious transactions worth more than $5 billion.
The enforcement action includes the third-largest penalty in Treasury history and the largest ever imposed by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), according to a department statement on Tuesday.
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) penalized the bank for failing to address and report national security risks, while the OCC targeted shortcomings in its compliance program.
FinCEN's $1.2 billion penalty includes credit for a $750 million civil money penalty imposed by the OCC.
The Treasury Department said the bank failed to report more than $5 billion in suspicious transactions to FinCEN on time. More than $1 billion of that activity involved national security concerns and other priority illicit finance risks.
The transactions included activity indicative of Chinese money laundering networks, fraud and potential trade-based money laundering with substantial links to the U.S. southwest border, the department said.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) also reached an $11.6 million settlement with Bank of America over 475 apparent violations of multiple sanctions programs. The violations involved sanctions related to Iran, Russia, narcotics trafficking and global terrorism.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stressed the role financial institutions play in safeguarding the country's economic and national security.
"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," Bessent said.
Bank of America is one of the largest financial institutions in the United States, with approximately $3.4 trillion in total assets as of Dec. 31, 2025.
Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, it provides consumer and corporate banking, investment banking and wealth management services, serving nearly 70 million consumer and small-business clients.
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