Garden Savings FCU Cited for Bank Secrecy Act Violations

PARSIPPANY, N.J. – Garden Savings FCU, a $160 million credit union, agreed to a cease and desist order directing it to address various violations of anti-money laundering laws, NCUA said yesterday. The order requires the credit union hire a Bank Secrecy Act compliance officer, create a BSA compliance team and create a program to train employees, monitor for compliance with BSA, Currency Transaction Reports and Suspicious Activity reporting requirements. Garden Savings is the third credit union cited by regulators this week for lax money laundering compliance. Monday the New York Department of Banking entered into similar orders with two small credit unions, Niagara Frontier Federal Employees CU and Niagara Falls Penn Central Employees CU, on violations of the BSA.