U.S. Federal Reserve Hits Customers Bank With Enforcement Action Related to Crypto Services

The governing body of the Federal Reserve System has issued an enforcement action against Customers Bancorp, the parent company of state-chartered Customers Bank known for doing business with crypto exchange platforms and stablecoin issuers.

The Federal Reserve Board (FRB) says the Pennsylvania-based bank holding company and its subsidiary have significant deficiencies in risk management practices and compliance related to laws on anti-money laundering.

According to an agreement with the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia signed on Monday, Bancorp and Customers Bank are already taking action to address the identified deficiencies in its Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA) and Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) compliance.

But Bancorp and Customers Bank still need to submit within 60 days a written plan for improving the organization’s risk management practices related to its digital asset strategy which involves offering banking services to crypto customers.

The plan should include the measures that the organization will take to ensure that those in charge of the digital asset strategy have appropriate expertise, authority, staffing and resources.

It should also cover the steps that will enable timely assessment and reporting of risk exposure associated with the digital asset strategy.

The price of Bancorp’s shares fell by 13.31% today. It closed at $47.01.

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