Getting Your AML/CFT Priorities Aligned
On June 30, 2021, the joint agencies published its first list of national AML/CFT Priorities as set forth by the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020 (the “AML Act”) which requires the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Attorney General, Federal functional regulators, relevant State financial regulators, and relevant national security agencies, to establish and make public priorities for anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism policy (AML/CFT Priorities).
Mid-Year Check-Up
It’s hard to believe that we are almost halfway through 2021. Many clients who have not been examined during the pandemic are asking for a “temperature” on the regulators.
What is Section 1071 of the Dodd-Frank Act?
Section 1071 of the Dodd-Frank Act amended the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) to require financial institutions to compile, maintain, and submit to the Bureau certain data on applications for credit for women-owned, minority-owned, and small businesses.
QM Rule Status
On March 3, 2021, the CFPB issued its proposed rule to delay the changes to the QM rule until October 1, 2022. The Bureau is proposing to delay the mandatory compliance date of the General QM Final Rule to help ensure access to responsible, affordable mortgage credit and to preserve flexibility for consumers, particularly those affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Federal Reserve Banks state that the new Assurance Program has been developed in response to the ever-evolving security threat landscape and must be completed by organizations no later than December 31, 2021.
Regulation D Limitations Finally Final!
On February 10, 2021, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System announced the adoption of the Regulation D interim final rule without change to be effective as of March 12, 2021.
AML Act of 2020
On December 20, 2020, the National Defense Authorization Act (“NDAA”), was signed by the President and officially became law on January 1, 2020. The Act contains 1,500 pages known as the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020 (“AML Act”), significantly reforming the Bank Secrecy Act (“BSA”) and other anti-money laundering laws.
The 1,500 pages contain the most sweeping changes to the BSA since its enactment in 1970. No doubt that this Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020 will have major impacts on your BSA AML program for
2021 and beyond.
Many institutions are adopting the changes with SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication) Standards MT (Message Type) Release in 2020 related to payment data management. This means removing free-format message options for fields 50 and 59 from the MT 103 and related messages to ensure that payer and beneficiary data is systematically captured and exchanged in a structured format.
There are less than six months until the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) Cybersecurity Vendor/Third Party Service Provider Requirements goes into Effect