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FinCEN Tightens SAR Confidentiality Rules, to Disappointment of Banks
By Brian Monroe
printFinancial institutions must keep a tight lid on investigations of suspicious account activity, even when transactional alerts don't merit federal regulatory reporting, the U.S. Treasury Department said Tuesday. In a final rule, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) outlined how banks and other companies must protect against broader disclosures of the investigations that sometimes lead to the filing of suspicious activity reports (SARs). The final rule follows a March 2009 proposal that elicited some 26 comment letters by trade associations, financial institutions and other groups. The regulations will "promote the protection of SAR information while seeking to ensure that the...
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