Regulation

Investors are facing recent pressure after Republic First's collapse, allegations of criminal activity by an executive at Old National and a pending CFPB rule affecting credit card fees.

Executives at the Canadian bank, which recently took a major provision for potential fines, say they're working to shore up anti-money laundering controls. At the same time, they're preparing employees and investors for an expensive slog as they work to satisfy U.S. officials.

A veteran Canadian bank analyst says Toronto-Dominion Bank's role in an alleged money-laundering scheme has made the "worst-case scenario" more likely — a huge fine for the lender and years of restrictions on its U.S. growth.

The efforts, which respond to President Biden's October executive order on AI, aim to improve synthetic content detection and improve the trustworthiness of AI models.

Toronto-Dominion failed to submit suspicious-transaction reports in cases where it was reasonable to suspect the transfers were tied to money laundering or terrorist financing, along with other violations, according to the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada.

A new policy directive aims to fortify critical infrastructure by enhancing collaboration between U.S. intelligence agencies and systemically important financial entities.

Toronto-Dominion Bank has taken an initial provision of $450 million in connection with U.S. investigations into its anti-money-laundering practices and said it expects additional penalties to come.

The first bank failure of 2024 will result in the Lancaster, Pennsylvania-based Fulton nearly doubling deposits in Philadelphia, a market it has viewed as strategically important for several years.

The Philadelphia-based bank's parent company, Republic First Bancshares, had been roiled by a yearslong proxy battle involving activist investors groups and its former CEO.

With financial crime surging worldwide, it is critical that the public and private sectors align on a shared vision to collectively focus on combating bad actors and to eliminate their ability to launder the proceeds of criminal activity.