Compliance Corner: US Department Of The Treasury; "De-Risking" Measures

Editorial Staff

26 April 2023

US Department of the Treasury
The US Department of the Treasury has pinpointed types of financial institutions that have the most urgent need to cut risks of money laundering offences.

The Treasury said there are particular concerns about small and medium-size money service businesses that offer money transfer services; non-profit organizations in risky countries, and foreign financial institutions with low banking correspondent banking transactions.

On April 10, the Treasury published the 2023 De-risking Strategy, stemming from the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020 .

The main force affecting financial institutions’ decisions to cut risks is profitability, but that can be affected by the cost of putting AML and counter-terrorist financing in place, the Treasury said.

The federal government should take steps such as:

- promote consistent supervisory expectations, including through training to federal examiners, that consider the effects of de-risking;

- analyze account termination notices and notice periods that banks give NPO and MSB customers and identify ways to support longer notice periods where possible;

- consider clarifying and revising AML/CFT Bank Secrecy Act regulations and guidance for MSBs;

- bolster international engagement to strengthen the AML/CFT regimes of foreign jurisdictions; and

- cut burdensome requirements for processing humanitarian assistance transactions.