Bank Secrecy Act and USA Patriot Act requirements

The USA Patriot Act and Bank Secrecy Act are areas in which Schwartz & Ballen is assisting banks and other financial institutions in establishing new procedures relating to recordkeeping and compliance requirements. The USA Patriot and Bank Secrecy Acts require financial institutions to develop programs to prevent the institution's facilities from being used for money laundering and terrorist activities. If such activities are detected, the financial institution is obligated to file a suspicious activity report with the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Financial Crimes Enforcement Network ("FinCEN").

USA Patriot Act and Bank Secrecy Act requirements.

In addition, the USA Patriot and Bank Secrecy Acts have also prompted other changes. Rules promulgated by the U.S. Treasury Department and FinCEN require financial institutions to establish procedures for identifying and verifying the identity of customers seeking to open new financial accounts. Financial institutions are required under the Bank Secrecy Act to maintain records of the information used to verify the person's identity, including name, address, and other identifying information, determine whether the person appears on any lists of known or suspected terrorists or terrorist organizations, and provide customers with notice that the institution is requesting information.

Schwartz's extensive knowledge and experience in advising the financial services industry on legal issues related to anti-money laundering and anti-terrorism matters places him as one of the leading experts on these subjects. He assists financial institutions in assessing and improving their anti-money laundering policies and procedures, currency transaction reporting systems, customer due diligence programs and internal controls. He also provides guidance in training personnel, covering all relevant BSA and related requirements, including accurate recordkeeping, form completion and detection and reporting of suspicious activity.

Savings and loan institutions, insurance companies, securities firms and other financial entities seek his advice on compliance with the regulations and guidelines of the Office of Foreign Assets Control, including procedures for ensuring that customer transactions are processed in accordance with a regularly updated list of entities and individuals whose assets are required to be blocked, frozen or monitored. In a similar vein these institutions also rely on his expertise to comply with requests from FinCEN, under Section 314(a) of the USA Patriot legislation, to search their records to determine whether the financial institution maintains or has maintained accounts for or has engaged in transactions with specified individuals, entities or organizations.

The Schwartz & Ballen web site provides complete coverage of the USA Patriot Act.

The web site provides implementing information needed by financial services companies on such topics as customer identification programs, suspicious reporting, information sharing, anti-money laundering programs, and foreign correspondent accounts. The site also provides links to all BSA forms and to OFAC's list of specially designated nationals and blocked persons.

Schwartz & Ballen assists its clients with the regulatory examination process by conducting comprehensive pre-examination reviews of their operations to identify areas where improvement is needed, and it then facilitates the implementation of changes. It advises clients on how to respond to examiners in order to resolve issues raised during the course of an examination, as well as assisting clients in responding to regulatory and other enforcement issues.

Find out what you need to know about USA Patriot requirements at the Schwartz & Ballen site.