The National Association of State Credit Union Supervisors (NASCUS) held an Advanced Bank Secrecy Act/Anti-Money Laundering Training here for more than 50 state agency staff, state credit union compliance officers and credit union CEOs. On tap was discussion of the critical elements of BSA/AML compliance and examination. The seminar agenda included presentations from BSA/AML compliance experts from federal and state agencies and the private sector, NASCUS said.
The seminar began with an optional session "BSA 101," presented by NASCUS' Vice President of Regulatory Affairs Brian Knight. Knight covered the "four pillars" of compliance, reviewed the public policy driving BSA/AML and discussed the examination oversight process.
Also presenting was BSA compliance expert Chuck Morley of Morley and Associates who spoke on "Building a BSA Compliance Program." Morley later spoke on "Identifying and Managing High Risk Accounts," where he examined the risk mitigation required for certain higher risk accounts and activities.
NCUA Program Officer Elizabeth Habring discussed techniques examiners can use to evaluate a credit union's BSA program, focusing on off-site review and participants learned about the key elements to review and develop their own risk assessment of a credit union and how to identify red flags. Tim Reece, of Tennessee's FBI field office, discussed how law enforcement uses the financial services reports and examined discussed money laundering.
Also speaking to the meeting were Ann Gregson, BSA compliance examiner with the state of Utah, who shared some tips on evaluating a program on-site, and Lorraine Lawlor, senior compliance officer with the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), who focused on OFAC compliance issues and distinguished between OFAC and BSA requirements.
