Bankers Compliance Task Force Current News Archive - April 2005
April 28, 2005 The joint federal banking regulatory agencies have issued frequently asked questions (FAQs) regarding the application of 31 C.F.R. 103.121. This joint regulation implements section 326 of the USA PATRIOT Act and requires banks, savings associations, credit unions, and certain non-federally regulated banks to have a Customer Identification Program (CIP). The agencies have also emphasized that a bank's CIP must include risk-based procedures for verifying the identity of each customer to the extent reasonable and practicable. The FAQ can be found at: http://www.fincen.gov/
April 26, 2005 FinCEN, along with the joint federal regulatory agencies, have issued interpretive guidance to clarify further the requirements of the Bank Secrecy Act and its implementing regulations for banking organizations when providing banking services to money services businesses operating in the United States. The guidance sets forth the minimum steps that banking organizations should take and provides assistance in assessing and minimizing the risks of money laundering posed by individual money services business customers. The guidance can be found at: http://www.fincen.gov/.
April 26, 2005 FinCEN has issued a concurrent advisory to money services businesses to emphasize their Bank Secrecy Act regulatory obligations and to notify them of the types of information that they will be expected to produce to a banking organization in the course of opening or maintaining account relationships. This advisory can be accessed at: http://www.fincen.gov/.
April 25, 2005 The MSA Registration List has been updated as of April 15, 2005. You may view the list at: http://www.msb.gov/.
April 21, 2005 Placing in writing what has been orally insisted upon by DC policy staff--but refuted by exam experience, the federal banking agencies and FinCEN responded to the ABA and State Associations letter of January 10, 2005 by stating that the approach of the FBAs and FinCEN is not "zero tolerance" and that they "expect banks to take a risk-based approach in developing and administering their BSA/AML compliance programs." For more information, you can read the letter at: http://www.aba.com/.
April 21, 2005 The Federal Reserve announced a new Web site dedicated to financial education that incorporates four Fed sites under one Internet location. It has material intended for the general public, as well as resources specifically geared toward teachers, high school and college students. The site includes a teacher resource search engine and new multilevel games for various age and knowledge levels. You can visit the new Web site at: http://www.federalreserveeducation.org/
April 20, 2005 The OCC has issued bulletin 2005-14 which addresses U.S. Census and 2005 Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) estimated median family incomes for metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs), metropolitan divisions (MDs), and nonmetropolitan portions of each state. The U.S. Census data, which are based on 2000 income data, were updated in 2004 to reflect revisions made by the Office of Management and Budget to the definitions and boundaries of MSAs and MDs. These data are used to determine 2005 income levels of geographies in Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) performance evaluations. The annual HUD data are used to determine 2005 borrower income levels in CRA performance evaluations. The data can be found at: http://www.occ.treas.gov/.
April 19, 2005 HOEPA May 2005 Reference Rate Published. The Federal Reserve has posted the new reference rates which lenders must use to determine if loans for which applications are received in May 2005 will be subject to HOPEA under the APR trigger test. Use the daily or weekly FRB H.15 to find the applicable release which lists the Treasury Security with the same maturity as your loan. To make the calculation, use the yield in effect on the 15th of the month prior to the month the application was received. For the daily rates go to: http://www.federalreserve.gov/. For the weekly rates go to: http://www.federalreserve.gov/.
April 19, 2005 Money Service Businesses. In its continuing effort to reduce the reporting burden on the Money Services Business industry, FinCEN has taken action to revise the suspicious activity report used by MSB’s. Several data elements have been removed from the revised report as well as one entire section. Of particular note is the complete elimination of the “Continuation Sheet” for recording traveler’s checks; money orders and wire transfer document numbers. FinCEN is requesting public comment on the recommended revisions. Comments may be sent to the address listed in the Federal Register dated April 18, 2005. For more information and the revised SAR form go to: http://www.fincen.gov/.
April 13, 2005 In United States v. Uddin, a United State District Judge in Detroit held that a person may be prosecuted for operating an illegal money transmitting business under 18 U.S.C. 1960 where the government shows that the person operated a money transmitting business that he knew was not registered with FinCEN. The judge rejected the defense argument that the government also must show that the person operating the money transmitting business knew that the business had to be registered, thereby following the general rule that ignorance of the law is no defense. This case illustrates that money services businesses are responsible for knowing their registration obligations under the Bank Secrecy Act and implementing rules. http://www.fincen.gov/.
April 7, 2005 The United States filed a Statement of Interest in the case brought against the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. The Statement sets forth FinCEN's position on the absolute confidentiality of Suspicious Activity Reports and related materials. Please visit http://www.fincen.gov/ to access the full document.
April 6, 2005 The FDIC has posted Spring 2005 State Profiles on its web site. State Profiles provide a quarterly summary of state banking and economic conditions. To retrieve a profile, visit http://www.fdic.gov/ and select a state from the map.
April 5, 2005 The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) will co-sponsor a symposium on "Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorist Financing" on April 6 in Austin, Texas. The one-half day event is part of an ongoing initiative to address the financial services industry's questions and concerns related to the financial recordkeeping and reporting requirements of the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) and the USA PATRIOT Act. The symposium will include speakers and panelists from FinCEN, the federal banking agencies, the law enforcement community and the financial services industry. For additional information, visit: visit: http://www.fdic.gov/.
April 1, 2005 The FDIC has posted its Safety and Soundness Manual of Examination Policies on its web site. The policy manual also includes Bank Secrecy Act/Anti-Money Laundering exam policies. To access the manual, visit: http://www.fdic.gov/.
