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| BSA Modernization would benefit Consumers, Financial Institutions |
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Outdated and burdensome Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) regulations impact financial services to consumers, and credit unions are urging Congress to prioritize modernizing them. In an op-ed published Wednesday in Tyfone, America’s Credit Unions President/CEO Scott Simpson emphasized the importance of updating Suspicious Activity Report (SAR) and Currency Transaction Report (CTR) thresholds.
“Modernizing these limits strikes the right balance: it ensures law enforcement receives actionable intelligence on genuine financial crimes while eliminating the automated false-flagging of standard transactions conducted by everyday Americans,” he wrote. “Outdated reporting thresholds drain vital resources from member-owned institutions. It is time for Congress to update the Bank Secrecy Act thresholds so credit unions can redirect their energy toward expanding access, lowering costs, and serving their communities.”
The $10,000 CTR threshold has not changed since the Bank Secrecy Act was enacted in 1972. Simpson notes that adjusting for inflation would raise it to around $80,000 in today’s dollars.
Filing the reports is also time-consuming. In a credit union survey conducted by America’s Credit Unions, members report completing CTRs and SARs takes more than twice as much time as the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network estimates. The median credit union surveyed spends more than 730 hours per year on total BSA filings.
America’s Credit Unions-supported legislation introduced in both the House and Senate to update the CTR threshold to $30,000 (up from $10,000), increase the SAR threshold to $10,000 (up from $5,000), and ensure the CTR threshold is periodically adjusted for inflation. The House Financial Services Committee advanced the Financial Reporting Threshold Modernization Act (H.R. 1799) with a vote of 30-24, while the Senate’s Streamline Act (S. 3017) is still pending action.
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