Agencies jointly issue examples of risk management practices effective in combatting elder financial abuse

Examples of risk management and other practices that may be effective in combatting elder financial exploitation were issued in a joint statement Wednesday by the five federal financial institution regulators, state regulators and the federal Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN).

In a release, the agencies said the examples can be used by the financial institutions they supervise “to help identify, prevent, and respond to elder financial exploitation.” The examples include:

• Developing effective governance and oversight, including policies and practices to protect account holders and the institution.
• Training employees on recognizing and responding to elder financial exploitation.
• Using transaction holds and disbursement delays, as appropriate, and consistent with applicable law.
• Establishing a trusted contact designation process for account holders.
• Filing suspicious activity reports to FinCEN in a timely manner.
• Reporting suspected elder financial exploitation to law enforcement, Adult Protective Services, and other appropriate entities.
• Providing financial records to appropriate authorities where consistent with applicable law.
• Engaging with elder fraud prevention and response networks.
• Increasing awareness through consumer outreach.

“Older adults who experience financial exploitation can lose their life savings and financial security and face other harm,” the agencies said in the joint statement. “A FinCEN financial trend analysis of Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) reports over a one-year period ending in June 2023 found that about $27 billion in reported suspicious activity was linked to elder financial exploitation.”

The agencies said banks, credit unions, and other supervised institutions play an important role in combatting elder financial exploitation and supporting their customers who experience these crimes.

The statement defines elder financial exploitation as the illegal use of an older adult’s funds or other resources for the benefit of an unauthorized recipient. Elder financial exploitation can deprive older adults of their life savings in whole or in part, devastate their financial security, and cause other harm, according to the statement.

Interagency Statement on Elder Financial Exploitation