Officials at the Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network plan to have a final Suspicious Activity Report worked out by Jan. 15.
But Fincen director Stanley E. Morris stressed that bankers should be patient, adding that missing a deadline is preferable to releasing ineffective rules on time.
The new report will replace the Criminal Referral Form and a box on Currency Transaction Reports that banks have been checking and backing up with documentation explaining the suspicious activity.
"Know your customer" rules also should be complete in mid-January, Fincen officials said.
Separately, Gregory D. Benson has been named to the Bank Secrecy Act Advisory Group, which helps Fincen write anti-money-laundering rules. Mr. Benson is a program manager at America's Community Bankers. Other members of the group include representatives of banking and business groups, along with state and federal government agencies.