FDIC terminates consent order with Discover

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has terminated a 2014 consent order with Discover Financial Services’ banking subsidiary, the Riverwoods, Ill.-based company said Wednesday in a regulatory filing.

The 3-year-old consent order was related to Discover Bank’s programs for combating money laundering. Under the agreement, Discover’s board of directors agreed to take a variety of steps to bolster its compliance efforts.

The consent order, which was terminated without conditions, led to substantial expenses for Discover. The firm has said that it spent $30 million in 2016 on a project related to looking back at past efforts to comply with anti-money-laundering rules.

While Wednesday'’s announcement was a step forward for Discover, the credit card issuer continues to operate under a second regulatory agreement related to its anti-laundering efforts. That 2015 agreement is with the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.

Discover Bank, a $92.6 billion-asset depository based in Greenwood, Del., operates mostly on the Internet, offering checking and savings accounts, among other products. Earlier this year, Discover Chief Financial Officer Mark Graf said that direct-to-consumer deposits were funding nearly half of the company’s loans.

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A Discover Financial Services credit card is arranged for a photograph in New York, U.S., on Thursday, June 23, 2011. Discover Financial Services reported a second-quarter profit of $1.09 a share, on a tax benefit. Photographer: Scott Eells/Bloomberg

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