American Express Fined $350 Million Over Anti-Money Laundering Failures
American Express National Bank has been fined $350 million by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) over deficiencies in its anti-money laundering compliance program. The program allegedly found approximately $13 billion in suspicious activity that was inadequately identified, evaluated, or reported.
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and the Federal Reserve announced the enforcement action Oct. 8, citing significant weaknesses in American Express National Bank’s compliance operations.
Regulators Identify Widespread Compliance Deficiencies
According to the OCC, American Express failed to maintain sufficient resources, experienced personnel, employee training, and internal controls to effectively monitor potentially suspicious transactions.
Regulators found that the bank focused its anti-money laundering efforts primarily on deposit products while providing insufficient oversight of its substantially larger credit card business. The OCC also identified deficiencies in customer identification and due diligence procedures.
The alleged failures extended over approximately a decade.
American Express neither admitted nor denied the regulators’ findings.
American Express Responds to Enforcement Action
American Express CEO Stephen Squeri said the company remains committed to addressing the deficiencies and strengthening its compliance program.
“While we have made meaningful progress, we know there is more work to do,” Squeri said.
The company does not expect the $350 million penalty or associated compliance costs to affect its financial guidance for 2026 or 2027.
For financial institutions and receivables management professionals, the enforcement action reinforces the importance of effective transaction monitoring, adequate compliance staffing, and risk-based oversight of consumer financial products.
