The House passed the CUNA-supported Corporate Transparency Act of 2019 (H.R. 2513) Tuesday, a bill offering Bank Secrecy Act/Anti-money laundering updates. CUNA urged House leadership this week to support the bill, and also noted its support for an amendment to the bill from Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), chairwoman of the House Financial Services Committee.

H.R. 2513 addresses redundancies, unnecessary burdens, and opportunities for efficiencies within the Bank Secrecy Act/Anti-Money Laundering (BSA/AML) statutory framework.

“Credit unions fully support law enforcement’s ability to track financial criminal activity, but it’s also important to strike a balance between compliance costs and benefits to the government,” said CUNA President/CEO Jim Nussle. “We support this bill’s efforts to address many of the more burdensome parts of BSA/AML compliance, and thank the House members for their support. We look forward to engaging and moving this bill forward.”

The successful Waters amendment adds the text of the Coordinating Oversight, Upgrading and Innovating Technology and Examiner Reform (COUNTER) Act (H.R. 2514), which was passed by the House Financial Services Committee unanimously in May.

Specifically, it would index the Currency Transaction Report (CTR) thresholds for inflation and further study the impact of Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs).