WASHINGTON -- The
Office of the Comptroller of the Currency announced today that the Federal Branch
of Arab Bank, PLC, New York, New York, has consented to an order under which it
will contract its activities and convert to an agency office. The order requires the Branch to maintain
asset levels and
to take various steps to improve its compliance program and internal
controls.
The order was
precipitated by the OCC’s determination that the branch had internal control
weaknesses, particularly with regard to its international funds transfer
activities. The order notes that Arab
Bank and Branch management cooperated with and facilitated the OCC’s
examination and investigation.
The order replaces a
February 8, 2005, interim order that required the bank to preserve its assets
and restrict its funds transfer activities until the broader action encompassed
in today’s enforcement action could be completed.
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The Office of the
Comptroller of the Currency was created by Congress to charter national banks,
to oversee a nationwide system of banking institutions, and to assure that
national banks are safe and sound, competitive and profitable, and capable of
serving in the best possible manner the banking needs of their customers.