On August 31, 2015, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) and the North Carolina Office of the Commissioner of Banks (“Commissioner”) issued a Consent Order (the “Order”) in connection with compliance by Peoples Bank (the “Bank”) with the Bank Secrecy Act and its implementing regulations (collectively, the “BSA”). The Bank is a wholly owned subsidiary of Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina, Inc. (the “Company”). The Order was issued pursuant to the consent of the Bank. In consenting to the issuance of the Order, the Bank did not admit or deny any unsafe or unsound banking practices or violations of law or regulation.
The Order requires the Bank to take certain affirmative actions to comply with its obligations under the BSA, including, without limitation, strengthening its Board of Directors’ oversight of BSA activities; reviewing, enhancing, adopting and implementing a revised BSA compliance program; completing a BSA risk assessment; developing a revised system of internal controls designed to ensure full compliance with the BSA; reviewing and revising customer due diligence and risk assessment processes, policies and procedures; developing, adopting and implementing effective BSA training programs; assessing BSA staffing needs and resources and appointing a qualified BSA officer; establishing an independent BSA testing program; ensuring that all reports required by the BSA are accurately and properly filed and engaging an independent firm to review past account activity to determine whether suspicious activity was properly identified and reported.
Prior to implementation, certain of the actions described above are subject to review by and approval or non-objection from the FDIC and Commissioner. The Order will remain in effect and be enforceable until it is modified, terminated, suspended or set aside by the FDIC and Commissioner.
The Bank began developing corrective actions prior to the entry of the Order and expects that it will be able to undertake and implement all required actions within the time period specified in the Order. The Bank will incur additional non-interest expenses associated with the implementation of corrective actions; however, these expenses are not expected to have a material impact on the results of operations or financial position of the Bank or the Company.
