FinCEN Proposes Rule to Fundamentally Reform Financial Institution Programs Designed to Fight Illicit Finance

WASHINGTON-Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued a proposed rule intended to fundamentally reform financial institutions' anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) programs under the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA). The proposed rule supports Treasury's efforts to modernize the U.S. AML/CFT regulatory and supervisory framework, and to ultimately reduce compliance burden. The proposed rule would promote risk-based, reasonably designed programs and greater consistency in how banks are evaluated for effectiveness.

"For too long, Washington has asked financial institutions to measure success by the volume of paperwork rather than their ability to stop illicit finance threats," said Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent. "Our proposal restores common sense with a focus on keeping bad actors out of the financial system, not burying America's banks in more red tape."

The proposed rule introduces the following key reforms to AML/CFT program compliance and supervision:

• refocuses compliance obligations and expectations on effectiveness by distinguishing between deficiencies stemming from program design and implementation;
• reinforces Treasury's belief that financial institutions are best positioned to identify and evaluate their illicit finance risks;
• empowers financial institutions to devote more attention and resources toward higher risks rather than toward lower risks;
• clarifies expectations related to certain program requirements and functions-including independent testing and audit functions-to ensure that examiners and auditors do not substitute their subjective judgment in place of financial institutions' risk-based and reasonably designed AML/CFT programs; and
• affirms FinCEN's central role in AML/CFT supervision, including through the introduction of a notice and consultation framework between Federal banking supervisors and FinCEN with respect to significant AML/CFT supervisory actions.

The proposed rule would revise FinCEN's regulations to reflect statutory changes made by the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020. This proposed revision of AML/CFT programs fully supersedes a prior proposed rule FinCEN published on July 3, 2024, and FinCEN is withdrawing that proposed rule.

FinCEN welcomes public comment on the proposal, which will be published in the Federal Register in the coming days. Comments must be received 60 days after publication of the NPRM in the Federal Register.

Resources

• Notice of Proposed Rulemaking
• Fact Sheet
• Key Changes in FinCEN's Proposed Rule to Refocus AML/CFT Programs on Higher-Risk Activity While Reducing Unnecessary Burden

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