A pledge by U.S. banking agencies to not penalize financial institutions solely for failing to abide by regulatory guidance may have only a negligible effect on federal enforcement of the Bank Secrecy Act, or BSA, sources said. The Federal Reserve, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., National Credit Union Administration and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency in a statement Tuesday outlined plans to curtail their use of advisories, frequently-asked-questions and other supervisory publications. The agencies also committed to publish fewer guidance documents on the same topic, view the numerical thresholds and other “bright lines” they contain as examples rather than...
The manual U.S. regulators use to assess financial institutions’ compliance with federal anti-money laundering rules has gained new standing thanks to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which recently ruled that the document all but contains the power of law.
The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the National Credit Union Administration, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency issued an interagency statement clarifying the role of supervisory guidance.
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