US authority Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has issued a final rule to ensure that banks throughout the industry follow the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) consistently. This new rule requires the AML programs of banks without a Federal functional regulator to comply with some minimum standards.
Banks without a Federal functional regulator have 180 days to ensure compliance with the final rule. As of now, such banks only had to meet some BSA obligations such as filing suspicious activity and currency transaction reports.
However, under the final rule, banks without Federal functional regulators must also fulfill customer identification program and beneficial ownership requirements. Such banks can use their existing AML procedures to comply with the final rule.