Financial crimes

The Senate Banking Committee approved the nomination of a top Treasury official in charge of stopping terrorism financing and financial crime during an executive session on Thursday.

There is an urgent need for the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network to bring its process for issuing civil money penalties and cease-and-desist orders in line with the other bank regulators.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency is collecting data on the decision-making process of banks that detach themselves from certain business sectors or geographical regions to limit potential heightened scrutiny from regulators, a process often called "de-risking."

Despite billions in revenue annually, legal marijuana businesses have yet to find a solution to the industry’s lack of reliable payments, banking and other financial services.

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network's revocation of orders finding certain foreign banks to pose substantial money laundering risk shows the agency is trying to evade scrutiny as it pushes the banks out of business, according to observers.

Sunstate Bank in Miami has been released from an enforcement action that had required it to strengthen its anti-money-laundering controls.

A Malvern Bancorp director has resigned following a disagreement over one of the Paoli, Pa., company's clients.

There are good, bad and ugly stories about how marijuana entrepreneurs deal with taxes and other financial management issues while having little access to banking services.

Compliance officers are terrified of a New York State Department of Financial Services proposal that could make them criminally liable for failings in their firm’s anti-money-laundering programs, according to industry representatives.

With the stakes so high for compliance officers, their rights and responsibilities should be clearly defined, including a safe harbor for those who play by the rules.

Inefficient, paper-bound processes, oligopolies that can charge high prices, the Rube Goldberg structure of correspondent banking, and excessive regulation all make it expensive for migrants to send money home. Technology is a big part of the answer.

The Bancorp in Wilmington, Del., named Sepideh Behram to the role of chief compliance officer. Her hiring comes as the $4.8 billion-asset company works to shore up its risk and compliance management.

The pressure on banks to become less risky backfires when they respond by curtailing services that are vital in a functioning financial system.

The marijuana industry is still hampered by its own banking crisis, but the rigidity of federal laws is not stopping all advances in financial services for the sector.

Federal and state banking regulators are still struggling with how to come to grips with banks whose clients are heavily involved in digital currencies like bitcoin — and that may be curbing interest from many in the financial industry.

Money-laundering episodes included a purported Whitey Bulger associate looting a church's coffers and the arrest of a Houston socialite on gambling-related charges.

A Colorado credit union's failed court battle against the Fed has led to renewed calls for U.S. lawmakers to offer stronger protections to financial institutions that provide banking services to legal pot growers and distributors.

After enduring a slew of post-crisis scandals, bankers are beginning to see the light on becoming stewards of their organizations.

A new digital currency backed by gold is billing itself as a more compliant, liquid and ultimately reliable store of value than decentralized systems such as bitcoin.

Regulators and institutions appear far apart when it comes to so-called "de-risking," in which banks drop businesses for fear of enhanced regulatory scrutiny, even while policymakers are stepping up their scrutiny of terrorist financing prevention in the wake of recent attacks.