WASHINGTON—Certain updates and changes would make it less burdensome for credit unions to comply with anti-money laundering/counter-financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) rules and regulations, America’s Credit Unions said in a letter to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN).
The letter was sent in response to a notice of proposed rulemaking (NRPM) required by the AML Act of 2020, which requires financial institutions to establish, implement, and maintain AML/CFT programs that are effective, risk-based, and reasonably designed.
‘Time-Consuming’
“Credit unions are generally doing much of what is contemplated in this NPRM, particularly with regard to current risk assessment practices,” wrote America’s Credit Unions Regulatory Advocacy Senior Counsel Luke Martone, before stating, however, that the proposed addition of provisions into the AML/CFT program, such as the AML/CFT priorities, will be “time- and resource-consuming, particularly for smaller credit unions.”
“Given that many of the provisions of the NPRM are statutorily required by the AML Act, including the AML/CFT priorities, it is imperative that credit unions be afforded adequate time to implement the changes contemplated in this proposal,” he added.
Support for Thresholds
America’s Credit Unions said it continues to support updated AML/CFT thresholds, calling for FinCEN to increase the Currency Transaction Report filing threshold to $30,000 (up from the current $10,000) and to support an increase to the Suspicious Activity Report filing threshold to at least $10,000 (up from the current $5,000).
The thresholds have not been updated since 1972.