CUNA to Congress: Modernize Bank Secrecy Act Reporting

OR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  

CONTACT: Lauren Williams – CUNA Communications; (202) 626-7642; lwilliams@cuna.coop 

Washington, DC (September 24, 2018) – Complying with the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) places unnecessary regulatory burdens on credit unions. Nearly half of all credit unions have fewer than five full-time employees, with at least two employees devoted to compliance functions, specifically as it relates to BSA compliance.  

Today, Credit Union National Association (CUNA) wrote to Representative Barry Loudermilk in support of the Financial Reporting Threshold Modernization Act.  

“This bill would provide much-needed and long-overdue relief for financial institutions by increasing the 1970-set threshold of $10,000 to $30,000 (significantly less than the near $70,000 the threshold would be if adjusted for real inflation.),” the letter reads. “Additionally, the legislation would increase the dollar amount thresholds for filing Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) from $5,000 to $10,000 and $2,000 to $3,000, respectively.”  

The goal of this legislation is to narrowly tailor when and how reports of suspicious financial activity are triggered to reduce low-value reporting while maintaining financial inclusion. CUNA believes the bill will provide long-overdue modernization of BSA, which negatively impedes credit unions ability to engage in lending and consumer finance.  

Read the full letter here.   

###  

About CUNA:    

Credit Union National Association (CUNA) is the only national association that advocates on behalf of all of America’s credit unions, which are owned by 110 million consumer members. CUNA, along with its network of affiliated state credit union leagues, delivers unwavering advocacy, continuous professional growth and operational confidence to protect the best interests of all credit unions. For more information about CUNA, visit cuna.org.