THE U.S. Federal Reserve yesterday told China Construction Bank Corp. (CCB) to ramp up its anti-money laundering framework, the first enforcement action by the U.S. central bank against one of China’s four largest State-owned banks.

    Within 60 days, CCB should submit plans for compliance programs for anti-money laundering controls, customer due diligence programs and methods for spotting suspicious transactions, the Fed said.

    Mildred Harper, chief compliance officer for CCB’s New York branch, confirmed the enforcement action.

    It is the first time the Fed has taken an enforcement action against CCB, according to the Fed’s website, where a database showed no similar enforcement actions for any of the three other large Chinese banks: Bank of China, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and Agricultural Bank of China.

    The Fed did not impose a fine or other sanctions on CCB and did not identify what problems CCB was facing. U.S. agencies could issue a fine later if CCB fails to fix the problems or if it is found to have violated anti-money laundering laws.

    The bank also must hire an independent third party to evaluate whether it properly identified and reported suspicious transactions exchanging U.S. dollars and foreign currency during the second half of 2013.

    CCB launched operations in New York in 2009, its first branch in North America.

    (SD-Agencies)