Compliance Blog

Written by Bernadette Clair, Regulatory Compliance Counsel

Yesterday, we mentioned that the new Currency Transaction Report (CTR) and Suspicious Activity Report (SAR) contain expanded data fields for the collection of additional data elements.  When the new reports were proposed, there were quite a few questions as to whether the changes created new obligations for filing institutions.  FinCEN’s guidance addresses some of these concerns.

Regulatory Expectations.  It should be noted that FinCEN’s guidance states, more than once, that issuance of the new reports is not intended to create new obligations for filing institutions, or change existing requirements or expectations.  FinCEN also says it will continue to work “with supervisory regulatory authorities as part of its ongoing efforts to promote consistent examination of these filing requirements.”

So in theory these new reports should not create additional reporting obligations (besides figuring out how to fill them out).  Maybe that makes compliance folks feel a little better…and maybe not.

Expanded Data Fields.  Some of the changes to the reports include fairly straightforward data.  For example, optional fields for email address, website address, and IP address have been added.  Often this information is included in the narrative; having a specific field just makes it easier for law enforcement to search.

Here are some of the more interesting changes that caught my eye.

• Gender:  Gender has been added to the report because it can be an important characteristic for query purposes.  The field is not mandatory and credit unions are not expected to collect gender information – however, credit unions are expected to complete those fields for which they have relevant information.

• Characterization of Suspicious Activity:  FinCEN has added additional data elements for characterizing the suspicious activity and types of financial services involved.  Aside from critical fields (that must be completed) these additional fields are designed to efficiently bring information about suspicious activity to FinCEN’s and law enforcement’s attention.  The expanded choices do not require the credit union to determine whether any and/or all of the choices apply to the activity being reported. FinCEN reiterates that institutions are not responsible for investigating the underlying suspected crime, but for reporting the information they know at the time they conclude that suspicious activity is present.  Investigations remain the responsibility of law enforcement.

• Spreadsheet attachment:  How many times have we been told not to include attachments when filing SARs?  Well, the tune is changing just a bit.  Now, credit unions can include a single, comma separated value (CSV) attachment as part of the report. The purpose is to include tabular data which is more readable and usable in this format than it would be if otherwise included in the narrative. The attachment would be considered part of the narrative. 

See FinCEN’s guidance for further information on filing the new reports and the expanded data fields.

Well, I think that’s enough for one day.  Happy Friday!