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Federal Regulators Delay Action on CTR Relief in Congressional Report
By Matt Squire
printU.S. regulators acknowledged the outcry from the financial industry for Bank Secrecy Act reporting relief but said they would not take any action until a government effectiveness study is released early next year, according to a congressional report released Thursday. The Federal Financial Institution Examination Council (FFIEC), in a 259-page document, dated July 31 and published Thursday in the Federal Register, outlined its progress in weighing strategies for reducing the burden of various bank regulations. Industry professionals submitted letters expressing concerns with the effectiveness of currency transaction reports (CTRs) due to the increased number of transactions that have surpassed the...
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A federal court fined a north New Jersey bank $5 million Monday for willfully violating the Bank Secrecy Act in an attempt to disguise $35 million in suspicious transactions, including $5 million in structured deposits.
The United Kingdom's chief financial regulator Tuesday fined Barclays PLC more than $4 million for "serious weaknesses" in its securities transaction monitoring reporting, the largest penalty issued by the agency for such problems.
Banks should use client financial statements, tax returns and audits when determining whether a business can be exempted from currency transaction reporting duties, the U.S. Treasury Department said Monday.
The U.S. Treasury Department finalized rules Thursday, lightening the requirements for financial institutions to report transactions above $10,000 on certain customers.
The country's largest banking association proposed a sweeping overhaul of U.S. anti-money laundering enforcement that would create a governmental entity responsible for overseeing Bank Secrecy Act compliance.
A Nov. 1 deadline imposed by the Bush administration for finalizing federal regulations could effectively kill a FinCEN proposal that would reduce the currency transaction reporting burden on financial institutions.
The U.S. Financial Crimes Enforcement Network has proposed amending Bank Secrecy Act regulations to reduce the paperwork banks do to exempt certain customer transactions from currency transaction reporting rules.
U.S. Representative Barney Frank said he will continue to push for easing the burden of Bank Secrecy Act compliance for financial institutions this year as the House Financial Services Committee turns its attention toward the widening U.S. mortgage and credit crises.
The Government Accountability Office, in a report issued Thursday, said financial institutions shy away from seeking exemptions that would reduce the number of CTRs they must file every year because the rules are unnecessarily complicated and they fear regulatory reprisals.
In a study expected to be issued Feb. 21, the Government Accountability Office is expected to conclude that CTRs filed by financial institutions provide essential information for law enforcement investigations, delivering a blow to industry calls for reporting relief.
A bill that would reduce the number of Bank Secrecy Act related reports financial institutions must file won't become law because of opposition from law enforcement and a backlog of higher-priority bills on Capitol Hill, banking compliance experts say.
Leaders of the U.S. House Financial Services Committee have requested a study of the effectiveness of anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist financing reporting requirements and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network's efficiency in administering them.
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United Roosevelt Savings Bank and Eurobank, in cease and desist orders issued Tuesday, were instructed to look for transactions that should have triggered currency transaction reports or suspicious activity reports. Both were cited for other deficiencies in their anti-money laundering programs.
Financial services professionals on Thursday called on lawmakers to reform Bank Secrecy Act rules, which they say overburden their organizations, regulators and law enforcement with marginally useful anti-money laundering related reports.
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