Compliance: Updates to the Bank Secrecy Act/Anti-Money Laundering Examination Manual

The Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) announced updates to numerous sections of the Bank Secrecy Act/Anti-Money Laundering Examination Manual. The updates offer insight into the examination process.

• Special Information Sharing Procedures to Deter Money Laundering and Terrorist Activity
• Due Diligence Programs for Correspondent Accounts for Foreign Financial Institutions
• Due Diligence Programs for Private Banking Accounts
• Prohibition on Correspondent Accounts for Foreign Shell Banks; Records Concerning Owners of Foreign Banks and Agents for Service of Legal Process
• Summons or Subpoena of Foreign Bank Records; Termination of Correspondent Relationship; Records Concerning Owners of Foreign Banks and Agents for Service of Legal Process
• Reporting Obligations on Foreign Bank Relationships with Iranian-Linked Financial Institutions

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The FFIEC members have reorganized some existing sections of the Manual to create new, individual sections based on specific regulations. Modifications to the six sections included in this release are detailed below. Sections have been deleted from the “Risks Associated with Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing” portion of the Manual. Concepts from the deleted sections are now included within related sections of “Assessing Compliance with BSA Regulatory Requirements.” There were no changes to the regulatory requirements covered by these sections. The agencies made revisions to ensure language clearly distinguishes between mandatory regulatory requirements and considerations set forth in guidance or supervisory expectations. The updated sections provide further transparency into the BSA/AML examination process and do not establish new requirements. The FFIEC revised the sections in close collaboration with Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.                    

Details are available at https://bsaaml.ffiec.gov.