Federal Reserve found ‘significant deficiencies’ in AML, Bank Secrecy compliance at Customers Bank 

The Federal Reserve and Customers Bank filed a written agreement on Thursday, with a plan to disclose operations and crypto risk exposure

article-image

rafapress/Shutterstock modified by Blockworks

share

The Federal Reserve of Philadelphia has charged Customers Bank with anti-money laundering and Bank Secrecy Act compliance failures. 

The Fed claims that it found “significant deficiencies related to the Bank’s risk management practices and compliance with the applicable laws, rules and regulations relating to anti-money laundering.”

Both the Fed and Customers Bancorp entered the written agreement. The bank will adopt the programs 10 days after an agreement is reached, according to the Thursday filing. 

“Within 60 days of the effective date of this Agreement, the board of directors of the Bank shall submit a written plan to the Reserve Bank to strengthen board oversight of the management and operations of the Bank’s compliance with the BSA/AML Requirements and OFAC Regulations,” the filing said.

That plan will include actions taken to improve its digital asset strategy and other “major operations.”

Read more: Coinbase UK subsidiary fined $4.5M for insufficient money laundering controls

The board will also include “measures to improve the quality, comprehensiveness and granularity of the information and reports received and reviewed by the Bank’s board of directors in their oversight of the Bank and its operations, including information related to its digital asset strategy as well as proposed activities.”

Customers Bank will have to report risk exposures related to crypto, as well as steps to measure and assess those exposures. 

The Fed will require the bank to give the Reserve 30 days notice prior to implementing any initiatives or changes to its crypto strategy, which includes both relationship announcements and product launches.

Earlier this summer, CoinDesk reported that Customers Bank allegedly debanked some crypto hedge funds, though the accounts were notably inactive.


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

Tags

Upcoming Events

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

Industry City | Brooklyn, NY

TUES - THURS, JUNE 24 - 26, 2025

Permissionless IV serves as the definitive gathering for crypto’s technical founders, developers, and builders to come together and create the future.If you’re ready to shape the future of crypto, Permissionless IV is where it happens.

Brooklyn, NY

SUN - MON, JUN. 22 - 23, 2025

Blockworks and Cracked Labs are teaming up for the third installment of the Permissionless Hackathon, happening June 22–23, 2025 in Brooklyn, NY. This is a 36-hour IRL builder sprint where developers, designers, and creatives ship real projects solving real problems across […]

recent research

Research Report Templates.png

Research

The convergence of DePIN and energy generation aims to address modern grid challenges by incentivizing distributed generation.

article-image

US states are now competing for Bitcoin bragging rights

article-image

The deal is likely to fuel further M&A around derivatives trading and infrastructure, Architect Partners’ Michael Klena says

article-image

Stripe announced Stablecoin Financial Accounts, which will allow businesses to have “stablecoin-powered accounts”

article-image

The deal is made up of $700 million in cash and 11 million shares of Coinbase’s Class A common stock

article-image

Blockworks Research uses numbers to help crypto advance to a higher stage of storytelling