Fed Frees Israeli Bank from Money Laundering Oversight

The Federal Reserve Board has freed Bank Hapoalim from an order that had required the Israeli bank to tighten its anti-money laundering oversight.

The Fed terminated an enforcement action with the Tel Aviv bank that was designed to address concerns about internal control issues at a Miami branch. The Fed said it terminated the order on Oct. 4.

The 2009 written agreement required Bank Hapoalim to strengthen corporate governance of the branch, review its anti-money laundering (AML) and compliance program, formulate written policies for AML and Bank Secrecy Act compliance and improve procedures for reporting suspicious customer activity, among other things.

Bank Hapoalim's Miami branch focuses on providing private-banking services to foreign citizens, the company said in its latest annual report. Bank Hapoalim also has a New York branch, which focuses on commercial banking for Israeli companies, private banking and wealth management.