30 THE NAFCU JOURNAL MAY–JUNE 2022 While there are no answers to questions about how reporting requirements will change, requests for information from FinCEN highlight potential areas that may affect credit unions’ BSA/AML compliance. “Since 2001, we have not seen any significant regulatory changes besides the inclusion of the beneficial ownership rule, so it will take time to finalize the rules, especially since many of the items require inter-agency coordination between the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN),” said Kaley Schafer, director of regulatory compliance for NAFCU. “While there is no need for changes within credit union compliance programs until final rulemaking, it is important to be aware of potential changes.” One way to prepare is to be aware of FinCEN’s National Priorities, suggested Schafer. “FinCEN published its first list of priorities in June of 2021, but we may see proposed rulemaking regarding these priorities by the end of 2022,” she said. FinCEN’s initial priorities, in no particular order of importance, are corruption, cybercrime, foreign and domestic terrorist financing, fraud, transnational criminal organization activity, drug trafficking organization activity, human trafficking and human smuggling, and proliferation financing. While the priorities do not amend BSA requirements, agencies plan to revise BSA regulations to incorporate the priorities into BSA programs. Potential Benefits for Credit Unions The AMLA does include provisions that may help credit unions more easily comply with requirements, said Schafer. “The agencies are evaluating the suspicious activity report (SAR) and the currency transaction report (CTR), which can be streamlined and modernized by increasing the reporting thresholds and removing any redundant or obsolete provisions.” “Streamlining the CTR will make the process more efficient for credit unions,” said Nicole Soto, VP, regulatory compliance, Mission Federal Credit Union. “We use significant resources to complete the form and its many fields accurately. We’re all human, so when you have a complex form, it is easy to mistype a tax identification number or check the wrong box.” The creation of a beneficial ownership database maintained by FinCEN that includes accurate, timely information has the potential to help credit unions streamline compliance with Customer Due Diligence requirements, said Soto. “The database which will leverage state business filing information still needs to be built so there are many unanswered questions about how it will work—including the timeline,” she said. “I am cautiously optimistic that this tool will save credit unions time and will assist with compliance efforts, especially for organizations with small compliance teams.” “ Since 2001, we have not seen any significant regulatory changes besides the inclusion of the beneficial ownership rule, so it will take time to finalize the rules. While there is no need for changes within credit union compliance programs until final rulemaking, it is important to be aware of potential changes. ” KALEY SCHAFER, DIRECTOR OF REGULATORY COMPLIANCE, NAFCU
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