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Growth in Suspicious Activity Report Filings Continues to Slow, FinCEN Says
By Matt Squire
printThe growth in suspicious activity reports (SARs) submitted by financial institutions continued to slow at the end of last year, as depository institutions gained experience in the filing process, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) said. Total SARs filed by financial institutions rose 17 percent to 1.08 million in 2006 from 919,230 a year earlier, according to the SAR Activity Review – By the Numbers, a report issued Thursday by FinCEN. Total SAR filings rose 33 percent in 2005. FinCEN attributed the change to slower growth in SAR filings from industries with reporting experience, such as depository institutions. That group,...
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Insurers were on pace to file 280 for the year ended this month, according to a FinCEN study issued last week. That compares with 5,723 SARs submitted by money services businesses in 2002, and 4,267 by securities and futures dealers in 2003, the first years those industries had to file the reports.