A Taiwan bank was ordered to pay a $29 million penalty for compliance deficiencies found in 2016 under anti-money laundering (AML) laws, including the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA), the Federal Reserve said Wednesday.
The order for the civil money penalty, assessed on Mega International Commercial Bank Co., Ltd., of Taipei, Taiwan ($352 million in assets, according to 4Q FDIC call report data), also required the firm to improve its AML oversight and controls.
According to the Fed, exams from June through December of 2016 at its New York, Chicago and San Jose, Calif., branches uncovered the compliance deficiencies. The exams found significant deficiencies relating to the branches’ risk management and compliance with BSA/AML requirements. In the New York branch, the exam found deficiencies in compliance with the Fed’s Regulation K to report suspicious activity.
Among other things, in addition to the CMP, the bank was ordered to submit a written plan to strengthen its board’s and senior management’s oversight of BSA/AML compliance at the three branches.