FinCEN Urged to Modernize, Streamline SARS, Records in NAFCU Letter to House

Source: CUToday.info

FinCEN should modernize and streamline suspicious activity reports (SARs) and records, which will help better identify financial crimes, NAFCU said.

NAFCU made the request in a letter to the House Financial Services Committee prior to its hearing, “Oversight of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.” 

Vice President of Legislative Affairs Brad Thaler said that SAR reporting thresholds are “outdated,” having “remained unchanged for decades.” Due to that issue in combination with the rapidly increasing inflation rate, NAFCU recommended that FinCEN immediately begin studying the impacts of tying the SAR reporting thresholds to inflation.

“The outdated thresholds cause some SARs to be useless to law enforcement because behavior that was once thought of as suspicious has since become common transaction practice,” added Thaler.

Thaler further said the outdated SARs thresholds cause major burdens for credit unions as their members rely on them to assist with all financial matters, and the burden of notifying reporting companies should not lay on their shoulders.

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