TCF Bank to pay $10M federal penalty

Wayzata-based TCF National Bank has agreed to pay a $10 million penalty for violations of the Bank Secrecy Act.

The U.S. Department of Treasury's Office of the Comptroller of the Currency examined TCF Bank's activity between November 2008 and July 2010. The agency says it found the bank had not filed suspicious activity reports in a timely way.

Specifically, federal regulators say they found cash transactions that indicated wire transfers where the source and purpose of funds was not identifiable. They say they found instances where TCF's reports failed to adequately explain or identify potential terrorist financing.

The $10 million penalty follows a cease and desist order issued by the government in July 2010 that directed TCF Bank to correct deficiencies in its anti-money-laundering programs.

In a statement, CEO William Cooper said he was confident the bank has taken the necessary steps to improve its monitoring, detecting and reporting of suspicious activities.

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