Newsroom

Bank Secrecy Act obligations triggered when serving marijuana businesses, FBI enforcement against money-laundering schemes and ensuring credit union service organizations comply with BSA rules were all discussed during Wednesday's BSA Seminarin Denver.

Fox Rothschild's Chris Pippett kicked off today's agenda by discussing BSA rules and regulations and the number of different civil and criminal penalties imposed for non-compliance. He also reviewed current liability trends and what credit unions can do to remain in compliance with BSA rules.

Credit union professionals at BSA Seminar on Wednesday also received an FBI enforcement update from bureau Special Agent Andrew Sekela. He discussed various money laundering schemes and how some criminals are successful (and others, not).

During a panel discussion, Pippett and NAFCU Special Counsel for Compliance and Research Pamela Yu focused on the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network's guidance for institutions serving marijuana businesses and how credit unions serving these entities can meet their BSA obligations.

NAFCU Director of Education Devon Lyon discussed member due diligence and various rules for business entities, including cash-intensive businesses, nonbank financial institutions, professional service providers, and trust and asset management services. He also noted reporting requirements and audits.

FinCEN's Tim Lawler and NAFCU Regulatory Compliance Counsel Stephanie Lyon led a session on suspicious activity reports, focusing on how to create an effective SAR process and how to use internal and external resources to identify and investigate questionable activity. The final session of the seminar was led by Lawler who gave an in-depth FinCEN update and discussed future rulemakings credit unions can expect from the agency.

Wednesday afternoon (and continuing this morning), BSA Seminar attendees were able to earn the NAFCU Certified Bank Secrecy Officerdesignation through passing an on-site exam, which tested their knowledge of conference material.

NAFCU thanks Allied Solutions for its support of this conference.

Next year's BSA Seminaris Aug 12-16 in Denver, Colo. Register now.