Federal Reserve Board takes enforcement action against American Express over anti-money laundering failures
8 October 2026
The Federal Reserve Board announced an enforcement action against American Express Company on 8 October 2026 to address, among other things, the firm's failure to sufficiently detect and report certain suspicious activity related to money laundering. The Board found significant deficiencies in how the company's enterprise-wide anti-money laundering programme was implemented, in particular at its subsidiary national bank. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, which is the primary federal regulator of that national bank, issued a separate enforcement action against the bank. The Board said the action will help ensure the firm operates in compliance with United States laws and regulations.
In plain words
OCC Office of the Comptroller of the Currency — The primary federal regulator of national banks in the United States.
AML Anti-money laundering — The set of controls a financial firm must run to detect and report suspicious transactions.