The American Express fine reached $350 million after U.S. banking regulators cited major weaknesses in the company’s anti-money-laundering controls. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency announced the penalty on October 8, while the Federal Reserve issued a coordinated cease-and-desist order against the parent company and a key subsidiary.

The enforcement actions centered on American Express National Bank’s failure to identify, evaluate, and sufficiently report about $13 billion in suspected trade-based money laundering over the past decade. Regulators also ordered the company to strengthen board oversight, transaction monitoring, customer due diligence, employee training, third-party controls, and sanctions compliance.

Key Insights

  • The American Express fine totaled $350 million after the OCC found systemic weaknesses in the bank’s anti-money-laundering program.
  • Regulators said monitoring and reporting failures affected roughly $13 billion in suspected trade-based money laundering activity.
  • American Express must submit several remediation plans within 90 days and provide continuing progress reports to the Federal Reserve.

American Express Fine Targets Systemic AML Weaknesses

The OCC said American Express National Bank lacked a Bank Secrecy Act compliance program reasonably designed for its business. The agency cited inadequate staffing and expertise, internal-control gaps, weak independent testing, and insufficient training for employees and directors.

Regulators also found that the bank’s risk assessment concentrated on its narrower deposit products while giving insufficient attention to its larger credit and charge-card businesses. Weak customer-identification and due-diligence procedures then compounded failures in suspicious-activity monitoring and reporting.

The $350 million civil penalty will be paid to the U.S. Treasury. The OCC’s order was coordinated with the Federal Reserve’s action against American Express Company and American Express Travel Related Services Company.

Federal Reserve Order Sets 90-Day Deadlines

The Federal Reserve said American Express had failed to detect and report certain suspicious activity sufficiently and on time. Its investigation identified weaknesses in transaction monitoring, fraud-referral processes, third-party risk assessment, and enterprise-wide financial-crime risk management.

The consent order requires the company’s board to submit a written oversight plan within 90 days. A separate 90-day plan must address policies, monitoring rules, customer due diligence, suspicious-activity reporting, third-party oversight, and escalation of material risks.

American Express Travel Related Services must also deliver a 90-day plan covering compliance with Treasury sanctions administered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control. The plan must address risk assessment, employee training, policies, procedures, and screening controls.

The company and subsidiary consented to the order without admitting or denying allegations connected to the Federal Reserve’s action. The order noted that they cooperated with investigators and had already started remedial work.

Oversight Moves Beyond the Initial Penalty

The enforcement package creates continuing obligations after the American Express fine is paid. The board must file progress reports within 45 days after the first full calendar quarter following the order and continue quarterly reporting unless the Federal Reserve changes the schedule.

The company must adopt approved plans within 10 days of receiving regulatory approval and then implement them promptly. The Federal Reserve order will remain enforceable until the regulator modifies, suspends, or terminates it in writing.

The action adds another company-specific regulatory development to a market already tracking the FTC’s farm-equipment competition inquiry. It differs from the monetary-policy implications of the latest Fed minutes and the product-growth focus of Visa’s stablecoin-card expansion.

The next observable catalyst will be American Express’s regulatory filings and disclosures about remediation costs, control changes, or business restrictions. Investors should also watch whether the OCC or Federal Reserve publishes additional milestones after reviewing the company’s 90-day plans.

Sharron Kendi is a seasoned crypto market analyst and writer with over three years of experience decoding blockchain trends, price movements, and market dynamics. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Commerce (Finance) from Kenyatta University, blending a solid academic foundation with a sharp eye for technical analysis and a deep understanding of on-chain data. Her work delivers clear, data-driven insights that empower investors to navigate the fast-evolving digital asset space with confidence.