ACB: Press Releases

Contact:	Robert Schmermund (202) 857-3104 Jim Eberle (202) 857-3145	Jim Eberle (202) 857-3145 (work) (703) 893-2593 (home) [email protected]	For Immediate Release May 6, 2005 #05-24
E-mail: [email protected]

ACB CALLS FOR CONSISTENCY IN BSA EXAMS

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WASHINGTON, D.C. — America’s Community Bankers has urged the federal bank regulatory agencies to take steps to achieve more consistency in examinations, especially in the area of anti-money laundering regulations.

In comments as part of the ongoing review of all regulations designed to identify unnecessary and unduly burdensome regulations, ACB said: “Legitimate customers are being denied service and banks are being forced to adhere to an unattainable standard of perfect compliance. Without real regulatory relief, our country will lose more community banks that opt out of burden.”

ACB said that while it supports the goals of the Bank Secrecy Act and the USA Patriot Act, “inconsistent interpretation of the implementing regulations by examiners and a lack of regulatory guidance have made it increasingly difficult for community banks to comply with anti-money laundering demands and have produced a plethora of unintended consequences.”

ACB urged the regulators to work with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network and the Justice Department to issue a single, clear policy on suspicious activity reporting that is applied consistently.

Examples of guidance requested includes: more specific information about the filing of suspicious activity reports, whether monitoring software is required and answers to frequently asked questions about the Office of Foreign Assets Control.

ACB asked the agencies to help examiners better understand whether to characterize BSA violations as “program violations” or “FinCEN violations,” since the latter are addressed more informally.

ACB acknowledged that Washington officials say there is no “zero tolerance” policy, but urged the agencies to ensure that all regional offices and examiners understand and adhere to the principle that perfection is impossible.

Click here for the comment letter.

America’s Community Bankers is the national trade association committed to shaping the future of banking by being the innovative industry leader strengthening the competitive position of community banks. To learn more about ACB, visit www.AmericasCommunityBankers.com.

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