UPDATED: Civil money penalty maximums higher in 2021 after inflation adjustments

Maximum civil money penalty amounts are rising about 1.18% under inflation adjustments made by federal financial institution regulators, with the increased maximums set to apply after Jan. 15.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC), Federal Reserve, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), and National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) published their penalty adjustments in the Federal Register; the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) notice is slated for publication Jan. 15. (The OCC also issued a bulletin Wednesday on the adjustments.) The increased amounts will apply to penalties applied toward conduct occurring on or after Nov. 5, 2015.

The highest penalty possible under the changes would be about $2.07 million, up from $2.05 million in 2020.

Under federal law (the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Improvements Act of 1990, as amended), federal agencies must make annual adjustments to the maximum amount of each CMP the agency administers. The agencies use a multiplier provided by the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to make the changes to their various CMPs. In December, the OMB released a multiplier of 1.01182 to be used to adjust each agency’s CMPs for inflation.

FDIC Civil Monetary Penalty Inflation Adjustment

Federal Reserve Board Civil Money Penalty Inflation Adjustment

NCUA Civil Monetary Penalty Inflation Adjustment

OCC Civil Monetary Penalty Inflation Adjustment

CFPB Civil Monetary Penalty Inflation Adjustment

OCC Bulletin 2021-2