News
Against Government Urgings, Small Banks File BSA Documents Manually
By Matt Squire
printEfforts by the U.S. Treasury Department to get small banks to file their Bank Secrecy Act documents electronically are likely to face stiff resistance despite law enforcement complaints, say consultants. The department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has urged banks since 2001 to file their regulatory documents electronically, including currency transaction and suspicious activity reports. The e-filings reduce processing time and allow law enforcement agents to more quickly access and search data, according to the bureau. Financial institutions filed a total of 18 million Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) documents in the fiscal year 2008, 67 percent of which were filed...
TO READ THE FULL STORY
Related News
The Bank of England reportedly exerts "strong pressure" on Russia's second largest bank, an arrested Zetas leader's sons tweet incriminating photographs, and more, in this week's news roundup.
Last year, I told you not to believe any of that "best of years, worst of years" stuff à la Charles Dickens with regard to 2012. But if 2013 was less eventful than the prior year, every indication is that 2014 will be "challenging" for financial institutions and regulators.
Federal regulators are asking a greater number of community banks and credit unions to invest in automated transactional monitoring systems similar to those used by their larger counterparts, say consultants.
Federal officials will weigh whether financial institutions can bank medical marijuana shops, New York's financial regulators asks two financial consultancies for data and more, in this week's news roundup.
Germany's BaFin is reportedly investigating potential AML violations by Deutsche Bank, a U.K. court could order the British government to pay millions to compensate a blacklisted Iranian bank, and more, in this midweek roundup.
U.S. lawmakers threaten to impose sanctions on Russia for harboring Edward Snowden, Switzerland transfers $962 million for backdated taxes, and more, in this week's news roundup.
As the compliance expectations of European regulators grow, banks should proactively move to adopt future changes outlined in proposals for the EU's Fourth Money Laundering Directive, according to the former global head of compliance at ABN Amro.
Italian prosecutors seize $10.5 billion from one of Europe's wealthiest families, a judge questions HSBC's agreement with the U.S. Justice Department, and more, in this week's news roundup.
Some jurisdictions will likely struggle to comply with a call by the world's top anti-money laundering watchdog to assess their own vulnerabilities to financial crime, say industry experts.
A group of investigative journalists reveal the identities of thousands of suspected tax evaders, U.S. prosecutors increasingly turn to a civil fraud statute to prosecute money launderers, and more, in this week's news roundup.
The Reserve Bank of India confirmed that it is investigating three banks for potential money laundering violations, a forthcoming industry survey points to rising compliance salaries, and more, in this midweek news roundup.
The U.S. Treasury Department is nearing completion of a plan to use predictive analytics software to analyze regulatory data and identify possible financial crimes, an official said Tuesday.
The director of the U.S. financial intelligence unit and prominent Bank Secrecy Act officers have formed a group to discuss whether efforts to combat money laundering at times miss their mark.
The U.S. Treasury Department has launched a taskforce to evaluate the effectiveness of America's anti-money laundering regulations - the first ever such review of the 1970 Bank Secrecy Act and related laws.
A former director of the nation's financial intelligence unit will join the Washington, D.C. office of Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP as of counsel, the law firm said Monday.
U.S. officials are weighing whether to expand the use of specialized financial analysis units beyond America's theaters of war as part of an effort to fight transnational crime groups, governmental sources say.
The nation's financial intelligence unit will relocate dozens of employees from its current Virginia headquarters to Washington, D.C. as part of an effort to better integrate with other U.S. Treasury Department offices.
The U.S. Justice Department's top anti-money laundering enforcer will lead the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network beginning next month, the bureau said Monday.
The transfer of billions of dollars in deposits out of large banks to smaller competitors is likely to increase the compliance work and woes of credit unions and community banks.
The push by community banks and other financial institutions to generate fee income with new products is causing some institutions to run afoul of their examiners, according to federal banking regulators.