WaFd Bank pays $ 2.5 million fine to fight money laundering

0

[ad_1]

The WaFd Bank of Seattle agreed to pay a fine of $ 2.5 million under a consent order it signed in 2018 with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency over alleged anti-currency issues. money laundering.

The $ 19.6 billion asset bank, a unit of the Washington Federal, said in a press release Thursday that it viewed the fine as a “significant step” toward resolving the more than 3-year-old problem. years.

“The WaFd Bank is committed to building and maintaining a [anti-money-laundering and Bank Secrecy Act] program and appreciates the opportunity to continue working with OCC to achieve this goal, ”WaFd Bank President and CEO Brent Beardall said in the statement.

Federal Washington had to terminate his agreement when buying Anchor Bancorp in Lacey, Washington, because of the problems encountered in its anti-money laundering program. The company was committed to avoiding any major acquisitions until the issues were resolved.

Beardall said at the company’s annual meeting in January that he believed the bank had addressed each of the 10 specific points noted in the OCC consent order.

The agency checks WaFd’s system every six months, he said at the time.

“It is up to the OCC to intervene and determine if the elements have been corrected; and second, is a sufficiently mature process to ensure that we will operate consistently in the future, ”Beardall said at the meeting.

[ad_2]

Share.

Comments are closed.