Federal and state banking regulators have ordered American Metro Bank in Chicago to beef up its Bank Secrecy Act compliance procedures.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation ordered the $80 million-asset American Metro, which caters to Asian-Americans, to refrain from "unsafe and unsound" practices, including operating with ineffective internal controls and failing to institute proper customer identification procedures.
American Metro's board was also cited for failing to adequately supervise the bank's operations.
The order was issued Aug. 8 but made public Oct. 2. The Chicago Tribune reported the order Thursday.
The 10-year-old bank also must improve its personnel training, provide better records of foreign customers, and conduct independent monitoring of its compliance procedures, particularly concerning the timely reporting of suspicious activity reports.
