Bank of America announced today the appointment of William J. Fox to the position of Senior Compliance Executive for financial crimes in the bank's Compliance Risk Management Division.
Fox joins the bank from the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) where since December 2003 he has been Director. FinCEN administers the Bank Secrecy Act, which authorizes the collection, analysis and dissemination of financial information important to the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing. In March 2005, U.S. Banker magazine named him one of the 25 most influential people in high finance.
Fox will report directly to Charles Bowman, Principal Compliance Executive for the company.
"Bill is a recognized leader in and authority on anti-money laundering," said Bowman. "As his first assignment at the bank I am asking him to take an enterprise wide view across the organization, working closely with Audit, Legal, Compliance Risk Management and Corporate Security to ensure that we have one of the strongest compliance programs in the industry. With his outside-in view of compliance activities he is particularly well suited for this task. We are pleased to have someone with his depth and breadth of knowledge join our team in this important role."
Prior to his appointment as FinCEN's Director, Fox served as the Treasury's Associate Deputy General Counsel and Acting Deputy General Counsel. After September 11, 2001, he also served as the principal assistant and senior advisor to the Treasury's General Counsel on issues relating to terrorist financing and financial crime. Fox was recognized for his work on these issues with a Meritorious Rank Award in October 2003.
Fox joined the Department of the Treasury in December 2000 as the Acting Deputy Assistant General Counsel for Enforcement. From 1988 to December 2000, he served at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF), first as an attorney in ATF's Chicago office, then as the Senior Counsel for Alcohol and Tobacco and finally as ATF's Deputy Chief Counsel. During his time with ATF, Mr. Fox provided legal support to several large scale criminal investigations; helped oversee ATF's regulatory program; served as a legal point person for ATF's alcohol and tobacco diversion program; worked on several important legislative initiatives; and served as principal legal support for the United States Trade Representative's Office for wine trade negotiations with the EU and other wine producing countries.
A native of Nebraska, Fox received his bachelor's degree in history and a law degree from Creighton University in Omaha.
He will join the bank on February 21st and will be located in Charlotte, North Carolina.