• Align your professional development with your credit unions’ needs and strategic objectives.
• Demonstrate an understanding of role-specific competencies essential to your BSA/AML professional development.
• Meet and familiarize yourself with America’s Credit Union staff.
• Understand the step-by-step process for certification.
• Learn effective exam preparation techniques and test-taking tips.
• Gain insights into the expectations and procedures for on-site examination.
  Identify and plan your next steps in the certification process.

• Learn the history of the development of the Bank Secrecy Act: Gain insights into the historical context and evolution of the BSA, understanding its origins and development over time.
• Identify the various statutes and agencies that constitute the BSA framework, including the Bank Secrecy Act itself, the USA Patriot Act, OFAC, OCC, FinCEN, and FFIEC.
• Familiarize yourself with essential terms and acronyms commonly used in the BSA regulatory landscape, ensuring clarity and understanding.
• Uncover the broader significance of BSA/AML beyond compliance, as we explore its pivotal role in maintaining the integrity of the financial system and safeguarding national security.
• Explore the roles and functions of key regulatory agencies and industry resources involved in BSA compliance.
• Learn how to read a regulation: Develop skills in deciphering and understanding regulatory documents, enabling effective interpretation and implementation.
• Understand the requirements outlined by the FFIEC for BSA/AML compliance programs, focusing on the five pillars of compliance.
• Gain insights into the consequences of non-compliance with BSA regulations, including potential penalties and enforcement actions.

• Define risk assessment requirements and comprehend their alignment with the credit union’s unique risk profile.
• Explore various risk categories affected by factors such as size, complexity, and organizational structure, including members, non-resident aliens, attorneys, accountants, geographic locations, and accounts.
• Learn the importance of identifying specific risk categories and customizing them to the credit union’s context.
• Discuss strategies for analyzing information to better assess risks within these specific categories.
• Understand the purpose of risk assessment analysis within the broader scope of BSA compliance.
• Recognize the interconnectedness between risk assessment, internal controls, and a robust BSA compliance program.

• Learn about CIP/MIP requirements.
• Identify the required identification and verification information and its applicability.
• Comprehend the timing for member notification.
• Understand and list the required documentation for CIP/MIP procedures.
• List identification and verification record retention requirements and acceptable types of record retention.

• Gain comprehensive knowledge of BSA reporting, encompassing its significance, regulatory obligations, reporting categories, available resources, and consequences for non-compliance.
• Develop the capability to identify when to file a Currency Transaction Report (CTR), understand the information necessary for reporting, and comprehend the concepts of structuring and aggregating transactions.
• Acquire familiarity with the FinCEN BSA Electronic Filing System, enumerate data required for completing a Currency Transaction Report (CTR), explore FinCEN resources, and understand the procedures for CTR back filing.
• Comprehend CTR filing exemptions and grasp the requirements for annual reviews.
• List CTR record retention requirements.

• Understand credit unions’ filing obligations, including timing requirements, mandatory reporting thresholds, filing exceptions, and confidentiality requirements.
• Identify reportable suspicious activities and recognize associated red flags for effective detection and reporting.
• Comprehend the necessity of notification, delineate timing requirements for notification, and examine the methods employed for reporting.
• Understand the safe harbor protection from civil liability under the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA).
• Comprehend SAR documentation retention rules and protocols for responding to law enforcement requests.

• Gain insight into law enforcement inquiries generated by credit unions’ suspicious activity report (SAR) filings.
• Review the SAR safe harbor and confidentiality requirements.
• Learn how to respond to law enforcement requests for SAR supporting documentation.
• Understand how the Right to Financial Privacy Act plays a role in requests for information that go beyond the scope of the SAR filing.
• Understand what information should be incorporated into policies and procedures guiding a credit union’s response to law enforcement requests.
• Gain a high-level understanding of Section 314(a) Information Sharing requirements.

• Learn about the USA Patriots Act’s information sharing requirements.
• Understand 314(a) compliance, including search criteria, reporting to FinCEN, documentation, security, confidentiality requirements, and associated restrictions.
• Gain insight into 314(b) compliance requirements, including the Safe Harbor for information sharing, use restrictions, joint SAR filings, and security and confidentiality requirements.

• Understand the role and purpose of OFAC.
• Discuss examiner expectations and comprehend the components integral to an effective OFAC compliance program.
• Define different OFAC Lists and grasp the nuances of various sanctions programs.
• Gain insight into OFAC requirements, including prohibited transactions, blocking assets and recordkeeping requirements.
• Understand OFAC’s broad coverage of transactions and transaction parties, including its definition of property, and discuss various transactions and transaction parties.
• Define OFAC General and Specific Licenses and list relevant resources for further understanding.

It has been a busy year for enforcement actions. This session will review recent enforcement actions against financial institutions related to BSA/AML and assess important anti-financial crime developments in 2024. 

On January 1, 2021, Congress passed the Anti-Money Laundering Act and the Corporate Transparency Act. Since then, FinCEN has been working to implement both laws through the rulemaking process. This session will examine the status of those implementation efforts, discussing how much progress has been made and what more needs to be done to implement these laws. 

The financial flows tied to Fentanyl trafficking are increasingly complex and challenging to detect, posing significant issues for credit unions and other financial institutions. These transactions, often obscured by third-party money laundering (3PML) schemes, play a crucial role in perpetuating the global Fentanyl crisis. This session will explore the intricate financial patterns linked to Fentanyl-related activities and their impact on credit unions, including compliance and regulatory concerns. Attendees will learn how enhancing detection capabilities and utilizing public-private partnerships can effectively address and disrupt these financial flows, contributing to a more effective SAR reporting response to the crisis.

Learning Objectives:

1. Identify Key Red Flags and Typologies 
   Equip attendees with knowledge of the common red flags and typologies associated with Fentanyl trafficking and 3PML to improve detection and reporting.
2. Enhance Suspicious Activity Monitoring and Reporting Programs 
   Provide practical strategies to strengthen credit unions' suspicious activity monitoring systems for identifying and reporting drug-related financial transactions, with a focus on effective SAR narratives.
3. Leverage Public-Private Partnerships 
   Demonstrate how credit unions can collaborate with law enforcement and public-sector partners to improve information sharing and combat the financial flows fueling the Fentanyl crisis. 

As models have become increasingly important to credit unions’ operations, the importance of constructing and validating an effective model has grown. In this session, attendees will learn the basics of what a model is and how it differs from data validation, including in-depth topics, such as how to build a risk-based model, how to maintain and defend the model, and strategies for documentation. 

On May 21, 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice published a notice of proposed rulemaking announcing its intention to reschedule marijuana. This session will review the proposal, next steps, and potential hurdles for the financial services industry if the proposed rescheduling is finalized. 

The session description is coming soon. 

The session description is coming soon. 

The session description is coming soon. 

The session description is coming soon. 

The session description is coming soon. 

The session description is coming soon.

Examinations can be stressful, but being well-prepared can reduce that stress. This session will provide tips on preparing for an upcoming exam – from both the credit union and the examiner's perspective.