OCC Issues $15 Million Civil Money Penalty for Business Compliance Violations

By John Zasada, JD, CAMS – Shareholder, Financial Institutions Group

On July 24, 2023, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) issued a $15 million civil money penalty against American Express National Bank located in Sandy, Utah, for violating regulatory requirements pertaining to small business customers. According to the OCC, between 2015 to 2017, in an effort to retain small business customers, the bank failed to:

• Properly govern and oversee the efforts of a third-party affiliate utilized to retain such customers. This included, the third-party affiliate’s call monitoring and documentation processes, and its tracking and monitoring of customer complaints.
• Gather employer identification numbers for certain customers and properly maintain records regarding compliance with the Customer Identification Program (CIP) regulations.
• Properly maintain records related to its effort to retain such customers, and later produce them in response to OCC requests.

These practices violated CIP requirements, as well as posed a risk to safety and soundness.

For more information on violations relating to small business customers, contact our regulatory compliance specialists today.