New Delhi, Oct. 14 -- Bank of America has been fined $1.21 billion by US regulators for widespread failures to detect potential money laundering and other illicit financial activity. The incident is likely to directly impact its third-quarter earnings.

The US Treasury Department said the fine stemmed from the bank's failure to report more than $5 billion in suspicious activity to the government. This included $1 billion linked to national security-related and other priority illicit finance risks.

"Financial institutions are on the front lines of protecting our economic and national security," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement.

"When a bank of this size fails to meet its anti-money laundering and sanctions obligations...