Institutions lacking a federal functional regulator – including non-federally insured credit unions, state-chartered non-depository trust companies, and private banks – will be subject to minimum standards for anti-money laundering programs established under a final rule published Tuesday.
In filings with the Federal Register, the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) said it is issuing the final rule setting the minimum standards for anti-money laundering (AML) requirements for the non-federally supervised financial institutions. Under the rule, the institutions must establish and implement anti-money laundering programs, which must include policies and procedures, a dedicated compliance officer, employee training and an independent audit function. The credit unions, banks and other institutions will also be subject to customer identification program requirements and beneficial ownership requirements.
According to FinCEN’s filings, the rule is meant to “ensure that all banks, regardless of whether they are subject to federal regulation and oversight, are required to establish and implement anti-money laundering programs, and extends customer identification program requirements and beneficial ownership requirements to those banks not already subject to these requirements.”
The final rule takes effect Nov. 15 (it was published in Tuesday’s Federal Register). The affected institutions will have 180 days to comply.