The federal Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) does not prohibit financial institutions from speaking openly with customers who are the subjects of official Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs), according to a clarifying statement issued by U.S. financial regulators Wednesday.
The statement, issued by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (the Fed), the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the National Credit Union Administration, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), signifies a more relaxed interpretation of the BSA and its confidentiality requirements. The statement “clarifies how banks can ensure compliance with SAR confidentiality requirements and provide customers with transparent and timely communication as part of the bank’s fraud investigation,” FinCEN said Wednesday in announcing the statement.
