A consumer protection rule requiring money services businesses to disclose the fees their clients must pay has prompted dozens of banks of all sizes to consider dropping their personal remittance services.
A federal letter asking money services businesses to turn over data on their agents marks the first broad U.S. effort in 14 years to better understand the scope of the fractured money transmitter market.
With the relatively modest changes in the latest version of the federal anti-money laundering examination manual comes the question: what will they mean for compliance exams?
An upcoming federal interagency examination manual will include details on how banks should react to law enforcement data requests as well as monitor for bulk cash smuggling, according to regulators.
The release of the long anticipated Bank Secrecy Act/Anti-Money Laundering Examination Manual for Money Services Businesses has left many regulators, money services businesses and banks struggling to understand what it means for them. Here are some insights into implementing the manual.
The U.S. Treasury Department released a long awaited regulatory exam manual for money services businesses, check cashers and money transmitters Tuesday.
Financial institutions that have recently become bank holding companies will face much tougher anti-money laundering regulatory exams through the Federal Reserve Board, say compliance experts.
Federal and state regulators have been conducting Bank Secrecy Act compliance examinations on money services businesses using a draft of a soon-to-be-released examination manual for the industry, according to regulators.
The U.S. Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network said in June 2007 that it was working with Internal Revenue Service and state regulators to produce an anti-money laundering exam manual for MSBs.
Bank of America has reportedly resumed offering banking services to money services businesses (MSBs), reversing a trend at the bank, and the industry as a whole, to drop money transmitters because regulators have labeled them as higher risk.
Federal regulators released a revised examination manual for Bank Secrecy Act and anti-money laundering compliance today to clarify expectations for trade finance, automated clearing house transactions and banking for money services businesses.
The new rules require financial institutions to obtain "reasonably available" information about the anti-money laundering records of certain foreign correspondent banks.
Financial institutions that fail to establish a "reasonably designed" Bank Secrecy Act compliance program or correct problems in their existing programs are subject to cease and desist orders, according to guidance issued jointly by five federal regulatory agencies.
Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, speaking Friday at the Financial Crimes Enforcement Networks headquarters, announced initiatives that include a more risk-based examination process and a narrower definition of the money services businesses industry.
Carol Van Cleef, an attorney with Bryan Cave LLP in Washington D.C. and an expert on money laundering issues, offers an assessment of the revised BSA/AML examination manual and explained how it can aid bank compliance officers in ferreting out suspicious account activity.