12 U.S.C. § 93 — Violation of provisions of chapter

(a) If a national bank's directors knowingly violate, or knowingly let the bank's officers, agents, or servants violate, any provision of title 62 of the Revised Statutes, the bank forfeits all its rights, privileges, and charter. A federal district or territorial court must first find this violation, in a suit the Comptroller of the Currency brings, before the bank is declared dissolved. Any director who took part in or agreed to the violation is personally liable for all damages the bank, its shareholders, or anyone else suffered because of it. (b) The Comptroller can also assess civil money penalties in three tiers. (1) First tier: a bank or an affiliated party who violates title 62 of the Revised Statutes, section 92a of this title, or related regulations, forfeits up to $5,000 per day the violation continues. (2) Second tier: if the violation is part of a pattern of misconduct, is likely to cause more than a minimal loss to the bank, or results in gain to the violator — or if it involves recklessly engaging in an unsafe practice or breaching a fiduciary duty — the penalty rises to up to $25,000 per day. (3) Third tier: if the violator knowingly commits the violation, or knowingly or recklessly causes a substantial loss to the bank or substantial gain to the violator, the daily penalty can reach $1,000,000 for an individual, or the lesser of $1,000,000 or 1 percent of the bank's total assets for the bank itself. (4)–(8) These penalties are assessed and collected the way section 1818(i)(2) provides, the accused gets a hearing under section 1818(h) if requested within 20 days, collected penalties go to the Treasury, and "violate" includes helping, counseling, or participating in a violation along with someone else. The Comptroller must issue regulations to carry out these procedures. (c) If an institution-affiliated party resigns, is terminated, or otherwise separates from the bank — including because the bank closes — the Comptroller can still issue notice and proceed against that person under this section, as long as the notice is served within six years after the person stopped being affiliated with the bank. (d) If a national bank, federal branch, or federal agency is convicted of a money laundering crime under section 1956 or 1957 of title 18, the Attorney General must notify the Comptroller in writing and provide a certified copy of the conviction; the Comptroller must then notify the bank of its intent to terminate its charter and schedule a pretermination hearing. If convicted instead under section 5322 or 5324 of title 31, the Comptroller may (but doesn't have to) issue the same kind of notice and schedule a hearing. Section 1818(h) governs judicial review of these proceedings. In deciding whether to actually forfeit the charter, the Comptroller must weigh: how much the bank's directors or senior officers knew of or took part in the offense; whether the offense happened despite the bank's prevention policies; how fully the bank cooperated with law enforcement; what new internal controls the bank has added since the offense; and how much the local community's need for banking services would suffer from losing the bank. This forfeiture rule doesn't apply to a good-faith successor or acquirer of the bank's interests, as long as the succession or acquisition isn't meant to dodge this rule. "Senior executive officer" has the meaning given in regulations under section 1831i(f) of this title. The Comptroller may also act in the Comptroller's own name, through the Comptroller's own attorneys, to enforce title 62 of the Revised Statutes, its regulations, or any other relevant law or regulation, in any legal action or proceeding where the Comptroller is a party.