Due Diligence Programs for Correspondent Accounts for Foreign Financial Institutions and for Private Banking Accounts, Docket Number FINCEN-2020-0012, OMB Control Number 1506-0046
Policy Division
Financial Crimes Enforcement Network
P. O. Box 39
Vienna, Virginia 22813
Dear Sir or Madam:
The American Bankers Association (ABA) appreciates the opportunity comment on questions raised by FinCEN about the costs and burdens financial institutions face when opening and maintaining foreign correspondent and private banking accounts. The questions arise in conjunction with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network’s (FinCEN) request for renewal, without change, of a Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) information collection regarding the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) due diligence requirements for opening and maintaining foreign correspondent and private banking accounts.
ABA believes that a thorough and reflective analysis of the regulations that apply to both foreign correspondent accounts and private banking accounts is needed and overdue. Officials around the globe have expressed concern that banks in certain regions are being denied access to foreign correspondent accounts and as a result, the international banking system. At the same time, perceived risks and regulatory expectations associated with these accounts have steadily increased, leading to a cost/benefit imbalance that often weighs against them. Although an assessment of the BSA requirements for foreign correspondent accounts and private banking accounts is needed, ABA recognizes that it is beyond the scope of the current undertaking. However, it should be initiated soon by convening roundtable discussions with representatives from the financial sector, regulators, and law enforcement representatives.
Nevertheless, the proposed expansion of the scope of the information collection burden is a positive first step. ABA believes that it will help present a more accurate picture of the regulatory challenges associated with opening and maintaining these accounts and will lead to a more accurate estimate of the time and effort associated with them. This is especially true since the current approach barely scratches the surface of the burdens. A more accurate understanding of the burden and costs associated with these accounts would shed light on the reasons these accounts have been declining over the past decade or more, and importantly, suggest opportunities for improving the efficiency and effectiveness of BSA compliance requirements for them.
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