Banks’ anti-money laundering controls, or lack thereof, were in the spotlight in 2024, led by a regulatory investigation into TD Bank Group that revealed surprising negligence and compliance shortcomings.
In October, regulators slapped the Toronto-based company’s U.S. subsidiary with one record fine of $3.09 billion And its assets limited to $434 billion as part of a plea deal following criminal charges that TD allowed the flow of more than $670 million in dirty money through its channels between 2019 and 2023. The U.S. Department of Justice, which has previously said it uncovered at least three money-laundering schemes during that period, has charged two dozen people, including three TD Bank employeesin connection with these crimes.
But TD wasn’t the only bank generating anti-money laundering news in 2024. Bank of America, Wells Fargo and a community bank in Kansas also drew unwanted attention for shortcomings in their own anti-money laundering compliance practices.
The year was full of other news about banking regulations. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has been in trouble lately as director Rohit Chopra tries to finalize a series of regulations, including circulars and reports, that appear to be an attempt to polish the works for the incoming Trump administration.
The CFPB recently focused on the credit card industry by stating that issuers may be violating federal law if they devalue rewards earned by cardholders or make them difficult to redeem.
In December, the agency finalized a rule that would do that limit overdraft fees to $5 or at costreinforced protection for Property Assessed Clean Energy, or PACE, loansAnd published a blog post about the role of credit cards and cash advance fees sports gambling.
Meanwhile, the proposed capital rules for the Basel III endgame – initially intended to impose higher capital requirements on banks with more than $100 billion in assets – have been largely watered down and further changes could take place with newly elected President Donald Trump at the helm.
Appointments of top regulators and how they will change under the new administration generated a fair share of post-election coverage. The Treasury Department and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. will have new leaders next year, and all eyes will be watching to see what unfolds for Jerome Powell at the Federal Reserve and Chopra at the CFPB.
Finally, USAA Bank finds itself in a regulatory minefield, an American Banker investigation found.
Here’s a deeper look at the top regulatory news of 2024.