Warren calls Treasury Department fine of Bank of America a 'slap-on-the-wrist'

A senior Democratic senator has criticized a recent $1.2 billion fine imposed on a major bank by the Treasury Department, calling it an insufficient penalty for years of alleged failures in anti-money laundering controls. The lawmaker, who chairs the Senate Banking Committee, argued that the bank’s shortcomings in compliance were severe enough to warrant a stronger financial consequence. The Treasury’s decision to impose the penalty was framed as part of broader efforts to hold financial institutions accountable for systemic risks. Critics question whether the penalty adequately addresses the scale of the bank’s reported lapses in oversight.

Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren (Mass.) on Wednesday blasted the Treasury Department’s $1.2 billion fine of Bank of America as “a slap-on-the-wrist fine." Warren, the top Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee, said in a statement that Bank of America “failed to implement an effective anti-money laundering program for years.” In announcing the penalty, the Treasury...