TD Bank reportedly is working to select compliance monitors to track its progress on risk and controls and report to regulators, as ordered by the U.S. government in October.
As the bank works on this process, U.S. CEO Leo Salom told staff this month during a town hall that TD Bank is committed to fixing its anti-money laundering (AML) and risk controls, that this is its top priority and that it has the resources to do so, Reuters reported Monday (Nov. 25), citing unnamed sources.
Reached by PYMNTS, a TD Bank spokesperson pointed to the bank’s Oct. 10 resolution announcement that confirmed that its AML remediation will include a monitor and said the bank has no further updates at this time.
The bank has spent $500 million this year to enhance its compliance programs, added training programs and hired several key executives, according to the Reuters report.
U.S. regulators and authorities said Oct. 10 that TD Bank Group and some of its U.S. subsidiaries consented to orders and entered into plea agreements related to previously disclosed investigations of its U.S. Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) and anti-money laundering (AML) compliance programs.
On that day, the Justice Department said that TD Bank N.A. (TBNA) and its parent company TD Bank US Holding Co. (TDBUSH) resolved Justice’s investigation by pleading guilty and agreeing to pay over $1.8 billion in penalties; the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) announced a cease and desist order and a $450 million civil money penalty against TBNA and TD Bank USA, a restriction on the growth of the bank and requirements that it remediate the deficiencies in a timely manner; and the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) said it assessed a $1.3 billion penalty against TBNA and TD Bank USA, N.A.
Saying that the bank’s U.S. operation did not maintain an adequate AML program, TD Bank Group Chair of the Board Alan MacGibbon said at the time: “The Board has and continues to take action to address these failures and hold those responsible accountable.”
On Friday (Nov. 22), TD Bank Group announced two more changes to its senior executive team, naming its senior vice president, controller and chief accountant, Michelle Myers, as global chief auditor, effective Dec. 9, and its deputy U.S. chief auditor, Keith Lam, as acting U.S. chief auditor.