Regulator fines American Express bank $350 million over money-laundering controls
A top bank regulator fined the bank arm of American Express $350 million on Thursday for weak checks on dirty money. Banks must flag suspect money to police, and the regulator says Amex fell short. The bank failed to fully report about $13 billion in suspect deals over about 10 years.
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency fined American Express National Bank $350 million on Thursday over weak anti-money-laundering controls. The bank regulator also issued a cease-and-desist order, which requires the bank to fix the problems. The money goes to the U.S. Treasury.
The OCC says the bank failed to properly spot and report about $13 billion in suspected trade-based money laundering. That is a scheme to move dirty money by faking or padding the value of goods. The activity ran from about June 2014 to May 2025. In some cases, it went through accounts tied to bank insiders, according to the OCC action quoted by American Banker.
The Federal Reserve took a separate action the same day against the parent company, American Express Co., and its travel unit. The Fed's order sets no fine. It says the New York Fed found major weaknesses across the company, including in how it tracks transactions and refers fraud.
"American Express failed to maintain a BSA/AML compliance program properly aligned with the money laundering risks of its operations," said Comptroller Jonathan Gould. The Bank Secrecy Act requires banks to help spot money laundering and report it to the government.
The OCC said the bank focused on its small deposit business and paid too little attention to its much larger credit and charge card business. It cited thin staffing, weak training and gaps in customer checks.
The bank must form a board-level compliance committee and write a full repair plan. It must also hire an independent reviewer to look back and see whether more suspicious activity reports should have been filed.
American Express did not admit or deny the findings, Reuters reported. CEO Stephen Squeri said the company is "fully committed" to fixing the problems. "While we have made meaningful progress, we know there is more work to do," he said. Squeri said the orders put no cap on the bank's size, and that the penalty is not expected to change the company's financial outlook.
The fine adds to recent scrutiny. Last month, the Fed and the FDIC raised concerns about part of the company's plan for winding down in a crisis, American Banker reported.
What we know: The OCC fined the bank $350 million, and the Fed and OCC both ordered fixes.
What we don't: Whether any people will face charges over the suspicious activity, or how long the repairs will take.
Where outlets agree Reuters and American Banker both report that the OCC found about $13 billion in suspicious activity the bank failed to properly report over roughly a decade.
Where they differ The outlets cited here report the same key facts so far.