Pub. 17 2020 Issue 3

Issue 3 • 2020 21 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 N E W M E X I C O R E A L I Z E D R E A M S flags that may be uncovered. Further, it would be appropriate to share the bank’s own specific unusual activity trends if any are identified based on the bank’s customers, products and services, and geographic location. Second, monitoring systems are de- signed to detect potential suspicious ac- tivity, whether manual or automated. For manual monitoring, the goal is usually to identify higher-risk transactions, such as those involving large amounts of cash or those to or from certain geographies, which may need to be tweaked when con- sidering the current FinCEN emerging trends relating to the coronavirus. Automated account monitoring systems can make it easier to identify in- dividual transactions unusual activity pat- terns or deviations from expected activity. These systems can capture a wide range of account activity, such as deposits, withdrawals, funds transfers, automat- ed clearing house (ACH) transactions and automated teller machine (ATM) transactions, directly from the bank’s core data processing system. Howev- er, the program parameters and filters should be reasonable and tailored to the bank’s activity to identify or control and may need some fine-tuning based on our current COVID-19 environment. Remember, the battle against sus- picious activity has only begun at the identification stage. Once identified, the bank still has the responsibility to review and research the activity and ul- timately come to a final SAR decision. If a decision is made to file a SAR related to the COVID-19 pandemic, it is import- ant to provide information with a high degree of usefulness for government authorities, including law enforcement. FinCEN has requested that appropriate information is included in any report to help identify the fraud, such as: • If the suspicious activity is related to an ACH payment from a state unemployment insurance program, please clearly mention COVID-19 UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE FRAUD in field 2 of the SAR (Filing Institution Note to FinCEN) as well as in the narrative. This will make it much easier for your SAR to get to law enforcement teams working with the states on unemployment fraud. • If the activity involves a counter- feit check or ACH payment for the EIDL program, please also clearly mention COVID19 EIDL FUNDS FRAUD in field 2 of the SAR (Fil - ing Institution Note to FinCEN) and state this in the narrative, as specific prosecutorial teams are working on EIDL fraud. Remember, financial institutions should provide all pertinent available information in the SAR and narrative. The better the story (i.e., the narrative), the more likely it will assist law enforce- ment in identifying and acting against COVID-19-related crimes. As we continue to do our part to fulfill our BSA regulatory duties, it is import- ant to remember those that may be impacted most — customers and com- munity members. Continue the good fight and remain vigilant during these challenging times and help protect those most susceptible to being taken advan- tage of from those bad actors. n Albuquerque: 505-843-9232 | Las Cruces: 575-524-6830 El Paso: 915-500-1055 | www.ELCDC.com Enchantment Land CDC is a local non-profit that assists in the growth and development of small businesses in New Mexico and El Paso, offering local expertise and local decisions on SBA 504 loans. Empowering the Local Economy