American Express Pays $350 Million to Settle Financial Crime Compliance Violations

American Express Company and American Express Travel Related Services agreed to an order issued by the Federal Reserve Board on October 8, while American Express National Bank agreed to a related order issued by the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC).

Under the orders, American Express will pay a $350 million civil money penalty to the OCC, marking one of the most prominent financial crime compliance penalties imposed on a major financial institution this year.

The orders do not impose any asset cap on the bank—a restriction rarely used with major institutions—meaning the company will not face limits on its business growth. The company stated that part of the fine had already been reserved and is not expected to impact earnings guidance for 2026 and 2027.

The settlement comes as part of a broader regulatory push in which the two regulators emphasize banks' and financial institutions' adherence to effective anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing programs, as well as timely reporting and addressing of suspicious activity.

What Do These Terms Mean?

Civil Penalty: A monetary amount imposed by a regulatory authority on a company for violating administrative or regulatory rules, without the violation amounting to a criminal offense.

Asset Cap: A restriction preventing a bank from growing its balance sheet size beyond a certain limit, used as one of the harshest penalties on financial institutions.

Anti-Money Laundering (AML): Rules and procedures that banks adhere to in order to detect and prevent their use in transferring funds derived from illegal activities.