The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network issued a proposed rule to implement ICBA-advocated beneficial ownership reporting provisions of the Corporate Transparency Act passed in 2020.
Details: The proposed rule would require covered entities to submit beneficial ownership information to FinCEN and provide timely access to this information to law enforcement, financial institutions, and other authorized users.
Impact: The proposed rule—which FinCEN said minimizes burdens on reporting companies—is designed to help combat corruption, money laundering, terrorist financing, tax fraud, and other illicit activity.
ICBA Position: ICBA has worked closely with policymakers in support of the beneficial owner policy, which passed late last year to deter the use of shell companies and provide needed relief from onerous BSA/AML reporting requirements. ICBA continues to advocate relieving community banks of collecting this information from their customers, as laid out in its BSA/AML white paper.
Next Steps: The comment period is open for 60 days until Feb. 7, 2022. FinCEN said it will engage in additional rulemakings to (1) establish rules for accessing beneficial ownership information, and (2) revise FinCEN’s customer due diligence rule.
