The Bank Secrecy Act

A CTR must be filed within

15 days of a reportable transaction and a copy retained in its records for at least five years

the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) was amended in

2001 by the USA PATRIOT ACT

The BSA applies to financial institutions which include, among other entities

Banks Securities brokers or dealers Entities engaged in money services Casinos Loans or finance companies, which include mortgage entity licensees and individual loan originators

An AML program must

Institute policies and procedures, based on its risk assessment, to detect money laundering and possible terrorist financing Designate a compliance officer to ensure the AML program is implemented effectively and updated regularly or as necessary Provide for education and training related to the AML program for the entity's employees Provide for ongoing training of staff with regards to their responsibilities under the program Ensure independent testing to monitor and maintain the program, the frequency of which should be based on the entity's risk assessment

The goals of the BSA include

Preventing and detecting money laundering and the financing of criminal activity Documenting large currency transactions Improving the reporting requirements to aid in the investigation of financial crimes

Other than to FinCEN, a loan or finance company may not disclose a

SAR or reveal that one has been filed

Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) is enforced by

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN)

The BSA requires a financial institution to develop and implement

a written anti-money laundering program that is reasonably designed to prevent the institution from being used to facilitate money laundering or the financing of terrorist activities

A currency transaction is

any deposit, withdrawal, exchange, or other payment or transfer that involves currency

A financial institution must report to FinCEN

any single or structured currency transactions which exceed $10,000 in a single day. This is reported on a Currency Transaction Report (CTR)

A covered financial institution, residential mortgage lender or originator, or any other covered entity must submit a Suspicious Activity Report (SAR) if

if it believes there is a possibility that a violation of the law is occurring or has occurred. A SAR must be submitted within 30 days of detection of a possible violation if the covered institution detects: Criminal violations that:Involve insider abuse in any amountTotal $5,000 or more if a suspect can be identified, orTotal $25,000 or more, whether a suspect is identified or not Transactions that total $5,000 or more if the bank knows or suspects that the transaction:May involve money laundering or other criminal activityAttempts to evade the BSAHas no legitimate purpose, orIs not typical for the customer

An anti-money laundering (AML) program must be approved by

senior management and a copy made available to FinCEN.