CUNA submitted comments to the Federal Reserve Board and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) in response to their joint notice of proposed rulemaking (JNPRM) lowering the threshold for collection, retention and transmittal of information for international funds transfers, and clarifying the treatment of convertible virtual currencies and other assets with legal tender status. Most significantly, the proposal would lower this critical threshold from transactions valued at $3,000 and above to $250 and above.

In the comment letter, CUNA expressed support for the goals of Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) regulations like this one, but strong opposition to this dramatic reduction of the transfer/transmittal threshold.  The letter explains that the lower threshold would impose substantial regulatory burdens and costs on credit unions, particularly those serving disadvantaged immigrant communities.  In addition, the JNPRM relies heavily on data derived from approximately 2,000 Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) to explain the need for the lower threshold, but does not adequately explain why the SARs process does not already provide adequate information about suspicious low value, cross-border transactions.  CUNA’s comment letter further argues that the JNPRM did not adequately explain alternatives to the lower threshold, such as streamlining and improving the SARs process to ensure that more useful information is provided to law enforcement entities.

If you have questions about this matter or other BSA regulations, please contact Damon Smith at (202) 235-3390 or dsmith@cuna.coop.