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NAFCU Senior Regulatory Affairs Counsel Michael Emancipator on Monday raised concerns about the regulatory burden presented by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network's recently proposed revisions to rules on collecting suspicious activity reports (SARs).

Under the Bank Secrecy Act, financial institutions are required to submit SARs for suspicious transactions involving $5,000 or more. In October, a FinCEN advisory specified that this threshold also applies to SARs for cyber-events.

"NAFCU has consistently supported the importance of FinCEN and BSA requirements to assist in the prevention of tax evasion or money laundering as they pose risks to national security," Emancipator wrote in a letter to FinCEN. "Our members have a good working relationship with FinCEN, and they consistently inform us that the publication of periodic [anti-money laundering]/BSA guidance is very helpful. However, BSA requirements still remain a burden to implement for many of our smaller members."

Emancipator noted that the $5,000 threshold has not been adjusted since 1996, and he encouraged FinCEN to raise the threshold to account for inflation. He also urged FinCEN to provide a more realistic estimate of the time it takes smaller institutions to collect SAR information.

"Because even the smallest of credit unions must spend significant time and resources on BSA/AML compliance, NAFCU believes that FinCEN could provide opportunities for technical grants or training," Emancipator continued. "Such a move would be in direct alignment with FinCEN's objectives, as training and technological subsidies would enable more credit unions to have robust AML/BSA procedures in-place, thereby furthering FinCEN's goals."

Emancipator also encouraged FinCEN to develop simplified SAR "notice filings" to speed up the information collection process and minimize the regulatory burden for smaller institutions.