US regulator fines BofA’s wealth unit Merrill over SAR failures
Key takeaways
- US regulator fines Bof A’s wealth unit Merrill over SAR failures Merrill did not review those lower-scoring event groups.
- The US regulator said the broker-dealer did not meet reporting and recordkeeping obligations and agreed to a $7.5m civil penalty.
- In its order, the SEC said Merrill used Bank of America Corporation's group-wide Bank Secrecy Act/Anti-Money Laundering programme as part of its own SAR compliance process.
US regulator fines Bof A’s wealth unit Merrill over SAR failures Merrill did not review those lower-scoring event groups. Credit: JHVEPhoto/ Shutterstock.com. · Private Banker International · JHVEPhoto/ Shutterstock.com. Vidhya Edwards Munnangi Tue, June 30, 2026 at 6:51 PM GMT+7 1 min read BAC Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated has resolved SEC charges tied to repeated failures to submit suspicious activity reports (SAR) between April 2020 and September 2024.
The US regulator said the broker-dealer did not meet reporting and recordkeeping obligations and agreed to a $7.5m civil penalty.
In its order, the SEC said Merrill used Bank of America Corporation's group-wide Bank Secrecy Act/Anti-Money Laundering programme as part of its own SAR compliance process.