WASHINGTON - Federal financial services regulators on Monday issued new forms for suspicious activity reports, which banks and other institutions are required to file in cases of suspected money laundering and other illegal activities.
The two-page form is meant to streamline the reporting process, replacing sections that previously required a narrative description of the suspicious event with a series of check-boxes and yes-or-no questions.
The new form also creates a new category of suspicious activity: computer intrusion. John J. Byrne, senior counsel for the American Bankers Association, said that while most of the changes are minor, the inclusion of computer intrusions means that banks will need to integrate more staff into the suspicious activity reporting process.
"This is really going to require that the information security people at the bank be factored into the suspicious activity report training," Mr. Byrne said. "But now that there is a new form out it is an excellent time for banks to retrain their staff in the SAR process, anyway."
