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Revised Suspicious Activity Form Will Get Better Results, Bankers, Regulators Say
By Matt Squire
printPlanned revisions to a form banks use for reporting suspicious activity will help generate better information for law enforcement, banking consultants and U.S. regulators say. The Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) plans to release an updated bank suspicious activity reporting (SAR) form that includes clearer instructions for completing the narrative section. A proposed revision, released for public comment by FinCEN in February, has gained the support of trade groups representing community banks. FinCEN, in a 2005 review of SARs, found that narratives often were incomplete or didn't adequately describe the suspicious activity. The problem tends to be pervasive...
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