The annual CUNA/National Association of State Credit Union Supervisors (NASCUS) Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) Conference stared Sunday in San Antonio, and will feature four days of sessions on the top BSA issues facing credit unions today.

Nearly 300 people are here to hone their compliance expertise by participating in sessions featuring experts from relevant federal agencies and hearing case histories about why BSA compliance makes a difference.

Sessions will include examinations of:

• Financial elder abuse and a new BSA training requirement, which is coming soon;
• Understanding the nexus between cybersecurity and anti-money laundering rules;
• Industry best practices to balance BSA requirements and emerging payment systems solutions; and
• Lessons learned from internal controls.

Participants will hear from Judy Graham, an NCUA program officer in the Office of Examination and Insurance, who will share information and insights about what the agency expects to see from credit union BSA programs.

The conference will help credit union compliance experts put a face on all the BSA-related forms they fill out every day to uncover illegal activities.

Timea Nagy, a human trafficking survivor, told her story Sunday. And Verafin, a CUNA Strategic Services alliance provider, will delve into how to detect signs of terrorist financing.

Attendees also will be able to earn or recertify their Bank Secrecy Act Compliance Specialist designation.

Also at this week’s conference, CUNA staff will be holding demonstrations of the CUNA Compliance Community, an online resource launched a year ago.

The Community represents a space for CUNA-member credit union professionals and service providers to connect with peers, solve problems and build knowledge. It already has more than 3,200 active users.

The CUNA/NASCUS BSA Conference has been officially accredited by the Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists (ACAMS). Those who attend the conference will now earn 20 credits towards ACAMS’ Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS) designation. 

CAMS is recognized by private institutions, governments and law enforcement.

News Now is onsite at the conference, with stories appearing on news.cuna.org each day. Live tweets from the sessions can be found at @NewsNowLiveWire, and using the hashtag #CUNABSA and #BSACompliance.