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Plans by the U.S. Comptroller of the Currency to ease the burden associated with Bank Secrecy Act-related examinations for small lenders are expected to be welcomed by industry, but also carry risks, analysts told ACAMS moneylaundering.com. In two bulletins issued Monday, the OCC noted that community banks, defined as those with less than $30 billion in assets, typically present a low risk for illicit finance, and described the previous approach to anti-money laundering supervision in the sector as excessively burdensome. As a result, OCC examiners from Feb. 1, 2026 can rely more heavily on "satisfactory independent testing" by banks' own...