Stearns Bank, N.A., pays $1M for SAR filing violations

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has issued a Consent Order for a Civil Money Penalty of $1 million against Stearns Bank, N.A., St. Cloud, Minnesota. The Comptroller found --

• Beginning in March 2010, the Bank became aware of suspicious transactions associated with the manipulation and fabrication of accounts receivables and factoring invoices.
• The Bank failed to adhere to its internal policies and procedures governing the monitoring and reporting of suspicious activity, including the maintenance of appropriate documentation to support its Suspicious Activity Report (“SAR”) determinations, and failed to file timely SARs.
• By reason of the failure to file timely SARs, the Bank violated 12 C.F.R. § 21.11.

The Comptroller also issued a C&D Order against Stearn Bank, N.A., directing the bank to take corrective action to prevent future violations.