The Federal Reserve Board said Friday that it has terminated the enforcement action against United Texas Bank, a Dallas, Texas lender whose anti-money-laundering controls for virtual currency clients drew regulatory scrutiny in 2024. The termination, effective September 2, 2026, was announced in a joint release with the Texas Department of Banking, the bank’s state supervisor.
What the 2024 Cease-and-Desist Order Required
The order, dated August 29, 2024, followed a May 2023 examination by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas and the Texas Department of Banking that identified significant deficiencies in the bank’s corporate governance and oversight. Examiners specifically flagged weaknesses in risk management and compliance with anti-money-laundering rules under the Bank Secrecy Act, tied to the bank’s foreign correspondent banking and virtual currency customers. Under the consent order, the bank was required to strengthen board oversight, overhaul its BSA/AML compliance program, revise customer due diligence, and improve suspicious activity monitoring. United Texas Bank, a Texas state-chartered institution that is a member of the Federal Reserve System, consented to the order without admitting or denying the findings, and the order remained in effect for nearly two years before regulators ended it.
What the Termination Signals for a Crypto-Facing Bank
Terminating the order indicates that United Texas Bank has satisfied the requirements set by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas and the Texas Department of Banking. The move matters for the digital-asset industry because the bank counts virtual currency clients among its customers, and the decision is the latest sign that U.S. regulators are easing compliance pressure on banks that serve crypto businesses, following the Federal Reserve’s approval of Kraken Financial’s master account. The order’s recitals noted that the bank had already begun strengthening its compliance program and lowering its BSA/AML risk profile after the 2023 examination.
A Broader Regulatory Thaw for Crypto Banking
The Fed’s announcement also terminated a July 2023 written agreement with Quontic Bank Acquisition Corp. and Quontic Bank Holdings Corp., two New York-based holding companies. The release did not spell out a detailed rationale for the terminations, which follow a period in which U.S. banking regulators have relaxed some crypto-related rules for banks. United Texas Bank, a member of the Federal Reserve System, did not immediately comment.
