The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency now considers Blue Ridge Bank in Charlottesville, Va., to be in a “troubled condition.”
The $3.3 billion-asset Blue Ridge disclosed in a regulatory filing that it has entered into a consent order with the OCC – the second for the bank since September 2022.
The consent order essentially replaces an existing written agreement that ordered the bank to improve how it monitors its fintech relationships. That agreement had a heavy focus on better staffing and improvements to its Bank Secrecy Act and anti-money laundering compliance.
The new order requires the bank to maintain a compliance committee to and submit written plans that address the risks of third-party relationships and any of its own BSA/AML deficiencies, violations and corrective actions. It must also adopt a revised and expanded BSA audit program.
Blue Ridge must receive written non-objection from the OCC before onboarding new fintech relationships or offering new products or services through existing relationships.
The bank will be required to improve and expand its risk-based processes for collecting and analyzing customer due diligence, enhanced due diligence, and beneficial owner information. It must develop and implement an enhanced risk-based program to ensure compliance with filing suspicious activity reports.
The order requires the bank to implement a program to effectively assess and manage IT activities, including those by third-parties, and develop a three-year strategic plan for OCC non-objection.
Finally, the bank must maintain a 10% leverage ratio and 13% total capital ratio of 13% and submit an “acceptable written capital plan” to the OCC.
Blue Ridge, since receiving its initial written agreement, Blue Ridge has brought in a new CEO, hired a fintech division president, dialed back its Banking-as-a-Service dealings, and agreed to raise $150 million in fresh capital.