AML

Federal prosecutors are cracking down on violations of the Bank Secrecy Act — often without first clarifying to virtual currency firms and other industries the sort of behavior will get them in trouble.

Trade finance has been quietly making a significant contribution to global growth. But regulations like Basel III could reduce its availability.

BancorpSouth in Tupelo, Miss., has again extended the deadline to complete its acquisitions of Central Community in Temple, Texas, and Ouachita Bancshares in Monroe, La.

Even if the U.S. government eases enforcement against banks processing wire transfers to developing countries, lawsuits brought by the plaintiffs' bar under the Anti-Terrorism Act may make banks continue to avoid providing remittance services to needy communities.

Witnesses testifying on Capitol Hill said legislation requiring incorporating companies to state true owner information would combat launderers.

Bank of the Orient in San Francisco has received a federal cease-and-desist order because of shortcomings in its compliance with anti-money-laundering rules.

While regulators worldwide have urged banks not to "derisk" by cutting off entire industries or geographies, it is rare for policymakers to specifically cite this controversial sector as wrongly underserved.

The Treasury Department gave financial institutions a rare pat on the back in a recent analysis of anti-money-laundering safeguards, saying the system has significantly improved.

Bank of Mingo in Williamson, W.Va., will pay a total of $4.5 million in fines and legal settlements after it was investigated for violating anti-money-laundering laws.

The digital currency world is readying itself for more regulatory penalties over the failure to meet Bank Secrecy Act and anti-money-laundering requirements following federal agencies' action against Ripple Labs last month.

In the wake of a report that the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network has identified more than 50 credit unions at risk of serving as a conduit for money laundering activities, the CU trades and regulators alike were scrambling to respond to what the NCUA suggested could be a "regulatory blind spot."

Departing New York state regulator Benjamin Lawsky revealed the final version of the BitLicense, the regulatory framework for digital currency businesses his department has developed over the past 18 months.

The structuring law that former U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert stands accused of violating highlights how federal prosecutors use the banking system as leverage.

Discover Financial Services has entered into a written agreement with the Federal Reserve to improve its anti-money laundering procedures.

The Department of Justice is looking into whether the two dozen banks that facilitated bribes allegedly paid to FIFA officials knew they were doing so. The case is also a test of how much liability banks have over illegal payments they allow.

Financial messaging organization Swift opened its KYC registry to fund distributors and custodians Thursday.

The U.S. is examining banks' conduct as part of a wide-ranging corruption probe of international soccer that has netted charges against 14 people, including officials with the sport's organizing body.

California officials briefly raised hopes among digital currency proponents Friday by releasing a statement that they would drop plans to regulate digital currency businesses and instead defer to the legislature.

The Bancorp in Wilmington, Del., has again delayed the filing of its 2014 annual report and is also late in submitting its first-quarter results, it said in a news release Friday.

A recap of the informed opinions (and the discussions they generated) on BankThink this week, including the financial inequalities exposed by the Baltimore riots and whether the changes to Dodd-Frank proposed in Sen. Richard Shelby's regulatory relief plan go too far.