OCC enforcement actions: Former Calif. bank CFO fined $10,000

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency on Jan. 21 announced a number of enforcement actions in the banking sector.

The following list excludes actions previously covered by S&P Global Market Intelligence and those that do not meet criteria for news coverage. Click here to view S&P Global Market Intelligence's full database of enforcement actions against U.S. banks and thrifts.

Civil money penalty/cease and desist order

The OCC issued a consent order against former Golden Pacific Bank NA CFO Bradley Lyon on Dec. 10, 2020.

In its order, the regulator said Lyon manipulated the bank's expense accrual accounts to inflate its 2018 income, leading the bank to file a materially inaccurate call report by reporting this inflated income on its Dec. 31, 2018, call report. The Sacramento, Calif.-based bank later corrected and refiled the said call report.

Lyon was ordered to pay a civil money penalty of $10,000 and to comply fully with all laws and regulations applicable to the institution whenever he is employed by or is otherwise affiliated with any depository institution.

Lyon neither admitted nor denied the OCC's findings.

Civil money penalty order

The OCC in November 2020 ordered San Antonio-based USAA Federal Savings Bank to pay a civil monetary penalty of $382,500 in connection with alleged violations of the Flood Disaster Protection Act.

Notice filed

The OCC seeks a personal cease and desist order and an order of civil money penalty assessment in the amount of $30,000 against former cfsbank President, CEO and Chairman Neil Bassi.

In the OCC's Dec. 17, 2020, notice of charges for personal cease and desist order and notice of assessment of civil money penalty, the regulator said Bassi engaged in an unsafe or unsound practice and breached his fiduciary duty by failing to ensure compliance with the Charleroi, Pa.-based bank's overdraft policy.

Notice of prohibition

The OCC prohibited Mark Johnson, former global head of foreign exchange and commodities for the Americas at HSBC Bank USA NA, from further participation in any manner in the conduct of the affairs of the bank and any depository institution.

In the OCC's notice of prohibition dated Dec. 10, 2020, the regulator said Johnson had been convicted of crimes involving dishonesty and breach of trust that are punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year under federal law.

The regulator said it agrees with the declaration of Deputy Comptroller Mark Richardson that the indictment and judgment of conviction against Johnson for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud in connection with a forex transaction and the management position held by Johnson as an officer of the bank threaten to impair public confidence in the bank's integrity.