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TCH Responds to FinCEN Proposal

The Clearing House (TCH) filed a comment letter responding to FinCEN’s February 2018 requests under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) for comment on the U.S. Treasury Department’s proposal to renew, without change, the regulations requiring certain financial institutions to submit Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) and Currency Transaction Reports (CTRs).

The letter argued that the proposed simple renewal of the SAR and CTR regulations without change would forego an important and constructive opportunity to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the reporting framework. It reiterated TCH’s recommendations that (i) Treasury should modernize, tailor and clarify certain criteria that trigger the requirements to file SARs and CTRs; (ii) Treasury should pursue a system that allows for the real-time provision of data in a way that facilitates efficient sharing and analysis; (iii) Treasury should conduct a broad review of the current SAR and CTR requirements, de-prioritize the investigation and reporting of activity of limited law enforcement or national security consequence and create opportunities for the law enforcement and national security communities to provide general feedback on financial institution filings; and (iv) Treasury should take a more prominent role in coordinating AML/CFT policy and examinations across the government and conduct a robust and inclusive annual process to establish AML/CFT priorities and provide an overarching purpose for the regime.