JPMorgan slammed for poor AML compliance

Judging from the heavy news coverage of recent AML settlements, it's tempting to think that British Banks have the biggest regulatory issues.

Standard Chartered agreed to pay a total of $667 million to U.S. and state regulators to resolve AML issues. That's a light sentence compared to the $1.9 billion fine that HSBC paid. But U.S. banks have also been in the spotlight.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Reserve are expected to issue a cease-and-desist order to JPMorgan Chase that will force it to enhance it compliance systems, according to Reuters. A fine is not expected, however. The Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, also could take a separate action against the bank apparently.

"The JPMorgan inquiry dates back several months...The first public signs that JPMorgan had issues with its transaction monitoring systems emerged in August 2011. At that time the largest U.S. bank agreed to pay $88.3 million to settle Treasury Department allegations that it engaged in prohibited transactions linked to Cuba and Iran. A source familiar with the expected order said JPMorgan did not adequately fix dozens of anti-money laundering issues cited previously by regulators, forcing them to take formal action."

At some point, you would expect the patience of regulators to run thin. The bank ought to be able to get this right. Other U.S. banks have been swept up in this as well. In April, for example, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency also found lapses in the compliance systems at U.S. bank Citigroup, which was not required to pay a fine. 

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