Billion-Dollar Bank Pays $65,000,000 Fine, Faces Cease-and-Desist Order After Violating Bank Secrecy Act, Deploying Poor Risk Management

A Los Angeles-based lender known as the ‘bank to the stars’ will pay a $65 million fine for a number of violations, including failure to follow the Bank Secrecy Act.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) says City National Bank engaged in “unsafe or unsound practices” ultimately resulting in lapses in several areas including operational risk management, compliance risk management, strategic risk management and investment management.

The OCC also finds that the lender violated the Bank Secrecy Act and failed to comply with regulatory standards that were created to ensure the health of large insured national banks.

On top of the civil penalty, the OCC also issued a cease-and-desist order to City National Bank which requires the lender to form a Compliance Committee.

The body will be tasked to create an action plan that would address the lender’s systemic deficiencies, present a “reasonable and well-supported timeline” for completion and name the people responsible for accomplishing the OCC’s remedial measures.

In a statement to Reuters, City National Bank says it is intent on resolving the issues identified by the OCC at the soonest possible time.

“Our focus will continue to be on both strengthening our infrastructure and systems to reflect a bank of our size and business model.” 

The bank has agreed to pay the fine and take remedial actions without admitting or denying the OCC’s findings.

City National Bank manages over $93 billion in assets and is known for having close ties with Hollywood.

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