FinCEN

The good news for financial firms is Congress has moved closer to reforming anti-money-laundering rules. But left behind in the effort is the reform most coveted by the industry.

The legislation includes a beneficial owner requirement and steps to study the utility of industry reporting, but avoids relieving banks’ burden to file data on suspicious transactions.

As Democrats keep the heat on the German bank over allegations that it suppressed reporting tied to Trump businesses, the Treasury secretary said he will direct the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network to look into the matter.

Democrats pressed law enforcement on whether senior Deutsche Bank executives quashed suspicious activity reports filings related to President Trump.

House lawmakers postponed a committee vote on legislation to require beneficial ownership disclosures, nearly a year after a different anti-money-laundering bill stalled over a similar provision.

Lawmakers are poised to advance a bill requiring that commercial customers identify their beneficial owners — taking that burden away from their financial institution — but the anti-money-laundering reform arguably most favored by banks has fallen off the radar.

A new study shows credit unions are confident about their ability to comply with recent changes to FinCEN guidance, but a closer look shows some concerns linger, especially regarding training front line staff.

FDIC Chairman Jelena McWilliams revealed an effort by the banking agencies to gain better clarity on how authorities use the huge amounts of suspicious activity reports that banks must submit under anti-money-laundering laws.

The SEC and other regulators are taking a closer look at ICOs and mergers involving cryptocurrencies and distributed ledgers, which requires careful diligence for payment companies and dealmakers, according to Will Turner, a partner in the blockchain and cryptocurrency practice at Steptoe & Johnson.

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network voluntarily works with tribal law enforcement on anti-money-laundering and counterterrorism initiatives, but is not currently required to do so by statute.

The 2020 budget would add the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and FSOC to congressional appropriations, charge lenders for FHA upgrades and require universities to have skin in the game on student loans.

Banks use anti-money-laundering and fraud systems to try to catch scams that prey on senior citizens. A few, including Wells Fargo, are working on artificial intelligence that could spot them even earlier.

Attorney General-nominee William Barr signaled this week he was not likely to crack down on financial institutions serving pot businesses, but even if he is confirmed and sticks with his assurance, the situation is far from resolved

Attorney General-nominee William Barr signaled this week he was not likely to crack down on financial institutions serving pot businesses, but even if he is confirmed and sticks with his assurance, the situation is far from resolved

The objectives of a Financial Crimes Enforcement Network rule requiring financial institutions to collect “beneficial ownership” details are laudable, but the regulation can be subverted by unscrupulous customers.

The National Credit Union Administration and other federal regulators said in a joint statement that they will take an institution's level of innovation into account in supervising its anti-money-laundering procedures.

The federal regulators said in a joint statement that they will take a bank's level of innovation into account in supervising its anti-money-laundering procedures.

As Congress weighs Bank Secrecy Act reforms, some worry that reducing suspicious transaction filings would be a gift to criminals.

Four members of the Senate Banking Committee are trying to reach a compromise on legislation to revamp Bank Secrecy Act procedures after prior legislative efforts failed.

Four members of the Senate Banking Committee are trying to reach a compromise on legislation to revamp Bank Secrecy Act procedures after prior legislative efforts failed.