AML

Justin Newton, founder and CEO of Netki, discusses the barriers to commercialization of bitcoin, how his startup is trying to solve the problem, why private blockchains are useful and why public ones will eventually become more valuable.

While the Trump administration could relax other bank regulations, it is unlikely that it would ease up when it comes to money-laundering compliance.

Violations of Bank Secrecy Act and anti-money-laundering compliance remain a hot topic for financial institutions as regulators can bar them from branch building and bank acquisitions. Here are some notable regulatory actions that are still unresolved.

Documents from Massachusetts complicate the narrative that marijuana businesses either can’t get bank accounts or are only being served by small institutions.

Attorney General-designate Sen. Jeff Sessions R-Ala., could pose a roadblock for marijuana businesses seeking financial services, but might also end a controversial Justice Department program targeting payment processors and financial institutions.

Scandal, business models gone awry, missing money and executive shake-ups — 2016 had it all. Here are the financial services executives or groups of them who took the heat and will be looking for better times in 2017.

Ameris Bancorp in Georgia wanted to buy a premium-finance business but settled for a joint venture, blessed by its regulators, after being flagged for insufficient Bank Secrecy Act compliance.

Following the passage of the November ballot initiative, it is hugely important that cannabis businesses in the nation's largest state be able to secure bank accounts, at a minimum.

WASHINGTON — Senate lawmakers are putting pressure on the Treasury Department's financial crimes unit to clarify to banks that businesses hired by marijuana growers and dispensers should not be treated like pot firms themselves.

Federal banking regulators are dismissing claims that they are pressuring banks to cut ties with payday lenders, arguing that the lenders' recent request for a court order against the agencies rests on erroneous speculation and bad legal arguments.