Financial crimes

Biscayne Bank in Miami, a community bank that focuses on serving high-net-worth individuals from the Caribbean and Latin America, has been named as an intermediary in the Panama Papers leak.

A long-awaited final rule published this week that requires banks to keep better track of the owners of companies with accounts at their institutions is too little, too late in combating money laundering and terrorism financing, according to financial crime specialists.

Advocates for the marijuana industry fanned out across Capitol Hill on Thursday, urging lawmakers to make it easier for pot businesses to be bank customers.

It is imperative for regulators and lawmakers to approach the online small business loan market with care and an understanding of how these lenders expand access to credit.

Along with publishing the long-awaited beneficial ownership rule, the Treasury and Justice Departments urged Congress to pass legislation to put the U.S. on par with foreign partners in the fight to curb the flow of illicit funds.

Requirements that banks share anti-money-laundering information should extend to fraud and cyber risks, to connect the dots between bad actors and their transfer of money.

De-risking can be curbed with tools that help lower the cost of complying with anti-money-laundering rules but do not sacrifice the effectiveness of controls.

In a speech Sunday, Federal Reserve Bank of New York President William Dudley gave credence to concerns that post-crisis regulatory reforms may have dried up liquidity in the Treasury and corporate bond markets, but said more examination is needed to guide effective policy.

The prosecution of former House Speaker Dennis Hastert illustrates why it makes sense to require bankers to share suspicions with the authorities.

In a twist, compliance officers are finding solace rather than pain in a recent enforcement action from the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.

WASHINGTON — After close to four years at the helm of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, Director Jennifer Shasky Calvery announced Tuesday she will leave the agency next month.

Hypur, a startup seeking to help banks serve businesses deemed high compliance risks (e.g. marijuana), has recruited a former Department of Justice lawyer to help build credibility. Its signature product: a payments platform to replace cash transactions.

Recent prosecutions against lenders accused of usury violations will test the government's use of a law more commonly known in organized crime cases.

The National Credit Union Administration quietly announced Thursday a meeting to discuss a reproposed executive compensation rule — one of the last and most important unfinished regulations in Dodd-Frank.

Banks should prepare for renewed scrutiny of their anti-money-laundering efforts in the wake of the headline-grabbing leak of the Panama Papers.

Sens. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., sent a letter to the Treasury Department on Thursday urging an investigation into whether any U.S. or U.S.-linked entities are associated with the Panama-based law firm Mossack Fonseca & Co. and its schemes to help wealthy individuals and businesses evade taxes and launder money.

As actions such as Operation Choke Point continue, the government should acknowledge the tension institutions face between serving a community and facing increased regulatory scrutiny.

If you're ever wondered about the scope of risks facing your financial institution from "insiders" potentially involved in shell company dealings, the Panama Papers provide some insight.

Banking industry representatives immediately raised significant questions about Donald Trump's plan to block remittances to Mexico, including the appropriateness of using financial institutions as a tool to carry out immigration policy, as well as how the policy would be executed.

Model legislation in the works would give state legislatures a template for regulating virtual currency businesses. The Treasury is lobbying against clear exemptions for firms that don't control customer funds.