Reported by LAURENCE DARMIENTO

City National Bank was fined $65 million on Wednesday by federal regulators for failing to maintain proper risk management and internal controls, including those related to money laundering. 

Long known as L.A.’s “bank to the stars” for its close ties to the entertainment industry, the bank entered into a civil consent order with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to clean up what the regulator called “systemic deficiencies in the bank’s risk management and internal controls.” 

The bank, the largest headquartered in Los Angeles, did not admit to or deny the regulator’s findings. It released a statement saying it planned to address the issues.

“City National, and our new executive management team, are committed to resolving the matters identified in the OCC’s order as quickly as possible. Our focus will continue to be on both strengthening our infrastructure and systems to reflect a bank of our size and business model, while at the same time providing our clients with consistently outstanding banking products and services,” said the statement by Diana Rodriguez, City National’s chief communications officer.

The consent order requires the bank to name a compliance committee of at least three people that has a majority who are not directors, officers or employees of the bank or its subsidiaries or affiliates. The committee must then monitor the bank’s effort to fix its deficiencies.

Read full report: https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2024-02-01/city-national-bank-fine-occ-65-million