Bank of America fined $1.2bn for money laundering failures

Third largest fine in US treasury's history, due to failure to report suspicious activity, may affect third-quarter earnings

Bank of America (BAC.N), has been fined $1.21bn by US regulators for widespread failures to detect potential money laundering and other illicit activity, a penalty the bank said will hurt third-quarter earnings.

The treasury department said the fine, the third-largest in department history, is due to the bank's failure to report more than $5bn in suspicious activity to the government, including $1bn that posed national security-related and other priority illicit finance risks.