OCC Announces Enforcement Actions for June 2024

WASHINGTON—The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) today released enforcement actions taken against national banks and federal savings associations (banks), and individuals currently and formerly affiliated with banks the OCC supervises.

The OCC uses enforcement actions against banks to require the board of directors and management to take timely actions to correct the deficient practices or violations identified. Actions taken against banks are:

• Formal Agreement with Credit Suisse AG New York Branch, New York, New York, to address deficiencies in the branch’s compliance related to the Bank Secrecy Act and other anti-money laundering laws and regulations. The branch’s execution of this formal agreement was a condition for the branch’s conversion to a federal license. The provisions of the formal agreement are substantially the same as a prior written agreement between the branch and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and the New York State Department of Financial Services. (Docket No. AA-ENF-2024-53)
• Formal Agreement with Touchmark National Bank, Alpharetta, Georgia, for unsafe or unsound practices, including those relating to the bank’s strategic planning, board and management oversight, liquidity risk management, interest risk management, credit risk management, audit, and information technology. (Docket No. AA-SO-2024-25)

The OCC uses enforcement actions against an institution-affiliated party (IAP) to deter, encourage correction of, or prevent violations, unsafe or unsound practices, or breaches of fiduciary duty. Enforcement actions against IAPs reinforce the accountability of individuals for their conduct regarding the affairs of a bank. The term “institution-affiliated party,” or IAP, is defined in 12 USC 1813(u) and includes bank directors, officers, employees, and controlling shareholders. Orders of Prohibition prohibit an individual from any participation in the affairs of a bank or other institution as defined in 12 USC 1818(e)(7). Actions taken against IAPs are:

• Order of Prohibition against Manuel Alejandro Ramirez Perez, former Relationship Banker and Credit Solutions Advisor at Bonita Springs and North Naples, Florida branches of Bank of America, N.A., Charlotte, North Carolina, for improperly accessing customer accounts and providing information on those accounts to a third-party individual. (Docket No. AA-ENF-2024-43)
• Order of Prohibition against Avianna Rivera, former Personal Banker at a Bryan, Texas branch of First National Bank Texas, Killeen, Texas, for embezzling $11,500 from the account of a bank customer. (Docket No. AA-ENF-2024-40)

The OCC terminates enforcement actions when a bank has demonstrated compliance with all articles of an enforcement action; or when the OCC determines that articles deemed “not in compliance” have become outdated or irrelevant to the bank’s current circumstances; or when the OCC incorporates the articles deemed “not in compliance” into a new action. Termination actions include:

• Order Terminating the Formal Agreement with Commonwealth National Bank, Mobile, Alabama, dated January 31, 2022 (Docket No. AA-ENF-2021-50), for unsafe or unsound practices, including those relating to strategic planning, loan portfolio management, and internal audit. (Docket No. AA-ENF-2024-44)

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All OCC public enforcement actions taken since August 1989 are available for download by viewing the searchable enforcement actions database at https://apps.occ.gov/EASearch.

Related Link

• Enforcement Action Types