Joint ABA and State Bankers Association Letter to FinCEN on Beneficial Ownership Information Access and Safeguards

Policy Division
Financial Crimes Enforcement Network
P.O. Box 39
Vienna, VA 22183

Dear Sir or Madam:

The American Bankers Association (ABA) and the undersigned 51 state bankers associations (collectively, the Associations) are pleased to comment on FinCEN's proposal concerning access to and the safeguarding of beneficial ownership information. The Corporate Transparency Act (CTA), part of the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020 (AMLA), requires FinCEN to create a registry of the beneficial owners of legal entities formed or registered in the United States (the Registry), while minimizing the compliance burden on the regulated community.

When finalized, the proposed rule will be the second in a series of three regulations designed to establish the Registry. The first regulation set forth the information that must be reported to the Registry, who must report that information, and when it must be reported. This proposal describes how FinCEN will regulate access by authorized recipients to the beneficial ownership information (BOI) within the Registry and requirements for the safeguarding of that information. The third regulation will update the beneficial ownership requirements of the existing Customer Due Diligence (CDD) Rule, which currently requires banks and other covered financial institutions to identify and verify the identities of beneficial owners of their legal entity customers. Concurrently, FinCEN continues to develop the technological infrastructure underlying the Registry.

The banking industry has long supported the establishment of the Registry and remains committed to engaging with FinCEN to support and promote the goals of the CTA, namely, combating illicit finance through the establishment of the Registry, while simultaneously reducing the regulatory burden on both small businesses and regulated entities. However, we believe that the proposal is fatally flawed, and it will not accomplish either of these objectives.

Download the comment letter to read the full text.