Pub. 10 2020-2021 Issue 5

O V E R A C E N T U R Y : B U I L D I N G B E T T E R B A N K S — H E L P I N G C O L O R A D A N S R E A L I Z E D R E A M S January • February 2021 15 Steve Manderscheid, Compliance Officer, Compliance Alliance Steve Manderscheid brings over 25 years of financial industry experience to the Compl iance Al l iance team. Previously, he focused on al l aspects of regulator y compl iance risk management while also serving in the capacity of a Bank Secrecy Act officer. In recent years, he has ventured into leadership roles in enterprise-wide risk management (ERM), complaint management, and vendor and third-party relationships. In his role as compliance officer, Steve brings all of his experience to completing reviews and working on developing tools, training materials, and training events for our members. Recently, he’s started expanding his educational role and has become the main presenter of our popular C/A Minute videos. or other illegal activity, evades the BSA or has no business or apparent lawful purpose. Under the current legislation, the Treasury Depart- ment is to undergo a formal review of these current arbi- trary thresholds established for filing CTRs and Suspi- cious Activity Reports (SARs), including: • Review of Thresholds for Certain Currency Trans- action Reports and Suspicious Activity Reports. The secretary, in consultation with the attorney general, the Director of National Intelligence, the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Federal functional reg- ulators, state bank supervisors, state credit union supervisors and other relevant stakeholders, shall review and determine whether the dollar thresh- olds, including aggregate thresholds, under sections 5313, 5318(g), and 5331 of title 31, United States Code, including regulations issued under those sec- tions, should be adjusted. • Considerations. In making the determinations required under subsection (a), the secretary, in consultation with the attorney general, the Director of National Intelligence, the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Federal functional regulators, state bank supervisors, state credit union supervisors and other relevant stakeholders, shall: ◦ Rely substantially on information obtained through the BSA Data Value Analysis Project con- ducted by FinCEN and on information obtained through the Currency Transaction Report analy- ses conducted by the Comptroller General of the United States; and ◦ Consider: ■ The effects that adjusting the thresholds would have on law enforcement, intelligence, national security and homeland security agencies; ■ The costs likely to be incurred or saved by financial institutions from any adjustment to the thresholds; ■ Whether adjusting the thresholds would better conform the United States with international norms and standards to counter money laun- dering and the financing of terrorism; ■ Whether currency transaction report thresh- olds should be tied to inf lation, or otherwise, be adjusted based on other factors consistent with the purposes of the Bank Secrecy Act; ■ Any other matter that the Secretary deter- mines is appropriate. • Report and Rulemakings. Not later than one year after the date of enactment of this act, the secretary, in consultation with the attorney general, the Direc- tor of National Intelligence, the Secretary of Home- land Security, the Federal functional regulators, state bank supervisors, state credit union supervi- sors and other relevant stakeholders, shall: ◦ Publish a report of the findings from the review required under subsection (a); and ◦ Propose rulemakings, as appropriate, to implement the findings and determinations described in paragraph (1). • Updates. Not less frequently than once every five years during the 10-year period beginning on the date of enactment of this act, the secretary shall: ◦ Evaluate findings and rulemakings described in subsection (c); and ◦ Transmit a written summary of the evaluation to the Committee on Financial Services of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate; and ◦ Propose rulemakings, as appropriate, in response to the evaluation required under paragraph (1). How will all this play out? Well, we’ll have to wait and see. Hopefully, an increase in the reporting thresholds will bring some semblance of tangible benefits to financial insti - tutions being burdened under the current BSA regulatory reporting structure. n Today, banks must develop and implement an effective risk-based AML program consistent with rules that transcend roughly 50 years of banking.