Tens of thousands of non-bank residential lenders and originators are not yet in compliance with Bank Secrecy Act rules five months after the passing of a U.S. Treasury Department deadline.
Real estate title companies, appraisers and escrow agents may be required to file suspicious activity reports and perform customer due diligence, a U.S. Treasury Department official said Monday.
The costs associated with new federal rules requiring mortgage firms to adopt anti-money laundering programs could drive some nonprofit lenders out of the market, companies say.
Plans by the Obama administration to pursue civil and criminal cases against institutions that illegally promoted mortgage-backed securities could also bring scrutiny to anti-money laundering compliance officers.
The U.S. Treasury Department said Monday it plans to close a "regulatory gap" by requiring non-bank mortgage lenders to report suspicious activity to the country's financial intelligence unit.
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