Calling on FinCEN to improve Section 314(a) information requests
Credit unions receiving incomplete data in information requests from the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) can create “large numbers of false positives” and force employees to conduct time-consuming manual reviews that provide “little value to law enforcement.” America’s Credit Unions outlined recommendations to reduce this unnecessary compliance burden while improving the quality and usefulness of information credit unions provide to FinCEN and law enforcement in letter sent Monday.
The letter from Regulatory Advocacy Senior Counsel Luke Martone is in response to FinCEN’s request for comment (RFC) on information collection requirements under section 314(a) of the USA PATRIOT Act. Martone noted the biggest challenge for credit unions when complying is the “frequent absence of core identifiers” such as date of birth, address, or taxpayer identification numbers.
He recommended that FinCEN require law enforcement to provide more details when gathering information to help financial institutions distinguish between similar names. Additional improvements, he noted, include clearer guidance, advance notice for unusually large requests, alerts when corrected files are issued, and expanded access to standardized training.
Martone also raised concerns about the lack of feedback credit unions receive after submitting 314(a) responses, Suspicious Activity Reports, or Currency Transaction Reports, making it difficult to assess whether their reporting supports law-enforcement efforts.
While the RFC focuses on Section 314(a), Martone highlighted the value of the voluntary section 314(b) information-sharing framework as related to fraud and illicit activity. “We recognize that the scope of 314(b) is defined by the text of the USA PATRIOT Act and that expanding its coverage would require statutory action. If policymakers consider targeted updates to allow more effective fraud-related information sharing, we strongly request Treasury’s support for such efforts,” he added.