WASHINGTON—A new proposal from the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network is looking to extend for the first time anti-money laundering (AML) program and Customer Identification Program (CIP) requirements for banks without a federal functional regulator, including non-federally insured credit unions, reported Keith Leggett, the former senior vice president and senior economist at the ABA.
In quoting from the proposal on his credit Union Watch blog, Leggett said the rule would “prescribe minimum standards for AML programs and include these institutions in CIP, thus ‘eliminat[ing] the present regulatory gap in AML coverage’ and ‘reduc[ing] the opportunity for criminals to seek out and exploit banks with less rigorous AML requirements.’”
Leggett noted that FinCEN that said the proposal would not be “unduly burdensome,” since covered institutions are already subject to various Bank Secrecy Act recordkeeping and reporting requirements