BOI database proposal too narrow, negates benefits to CUs

CUNA urges the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) to reconsider its position in its beneficial ownership information (BOI) access and safeguards proposal in a letter sent this week. The Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020 requires creation of a BOI database where companies and legal entities report BOI directly to FinCEN, and financial institutions will access a database with the information to meeting their customer due diligence obligations.

CUNA supports a BOI database as a “significant opportunity to improve the quality and timelines of BOI information for law enforcement and financial institutions,” but believes FinCEN ‘s interpretation is too narrow and is counter to Congressional intent.

“CUNA is greatly concerned that FinCEN has narrowed the permissible use of BOI obtained from the database beyond what is permissible under the text of the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) and the clear intentions of Congress, and such that that the efficiencies and burden relief the database is intended to create will be wholly lost,” the letter reads.

“In order for FinCEN to interpret Congress’s intentions so narrowly, FinCEN is ignoring the plain meaning of the text of the CTA which clearly states its purpose is to facilitate compliance with a series of BSA/AML requirements separated by commas: ‘with anti-money laundering, countering the financing of terrorism, and customer due diligence requirements under applicable law,’” it adds.

The letter also addresses updates to beneficial ownership information, consent, and security.