Federal banking regulators issued a proposed rule that would amend Bank Secrecy Act requirements for anti-money-laundering and countering-the-financing-of-terrorism programs.
Proposal Details: The proposed amendments are intended to align banking agency regulations with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network’s proposed changes to AML/CFT standards under the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020. They include:
A risk assessment process in the AML/CFT program rules that requires, among other things, consideration of the national AML/CFT Priorities published by FinCEN.
Customer due diligence requirements to reflect prior amendments to FinCEN’s rule.
Amendments to codify longstanding AML/CFT supervisory expectations.
ICBA View: In a 2022 comment letter, ICBA laid out its plan for FinCEN to modernize its BSA framework. Responding to a FinCEN request for information under the AML Act, ICBA urged the agency to raise Suspicious Activity Report and Currency Transaction Report thresholds and withdraw bank beneficial ownership collection and verification requirements, among other recommendations to alleviate compliance burdens while producing more useful information for law enforcement.