All depository institutions insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC), and those proposed, will be subject to the switch to electronic fingerprinting in the FDIC’s background-check process beginning the second quarter of this year, the agency says in Financial Institution Letter (No. 21-2018) issued Tuesday.
The FDIC uses fingerprinting to establish positive identification for background checks related to applications for federal deposit insurance, notices of acquisition of control, requests for participation in the banking industry by individuals with certain criminal convictions, and notices to replace board members or senior management in certain institutions. The switch to electronic fingerprinting applies to institutions all asset sizes, the FDIC letter says.
Fingerprints, which are submitted to the FBI for ID checks, can be collected at more than 1,000 collections sites across all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands, the letter says.
The FDIC says the fingerprinting technology automatically rates the quality of the fingerprints and significantly reduces poor-quality fingerprint samples. It says the purpose of the change is to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the fingerprinting background check process.