§3110 Penalties

Summary

Foreign banks, their U.S. offices or subsidiaries, and people who take part in violations can be fined. A general violation can bring a civil penalty up to $25,000 for each day it continues. The Federal Reserve Board or the Comptroller of the Currency will assess and collect those fines using the procedures in section 1818(i)(2), and any hearing follows section 1818(h). Money collected goes to the U.S. Treasury. “Violate” means doing, helping, advising, or taking steps toward a breach. The Board and the Comptroller must each make rules to carry out these rules. Leaving a job with the bank does not stop the Board or Comptroller from issuing a notice or pursuing fines, as long as the notice is served within 6 years after the person stopped being affiliated. There are special fines for failing to file required reports or for false reports: up to $2,000 per day for inadvertent or minimally late errors (the bank must prove it was an accident); up to $20,000 per day for other failures or misleading reports; and, if the false report was made knowingly or with reckless disregard, up to $1,000,000 or 1% of the bank’s total assets per day, whichever is less. Collection and hearing rules apply as noted above.