BAI

BSA

Bank Secrecy Act The Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) was designed to detect and prevent money laundering connected with white collar crime by creating a data trail to document large cash transactions.

FinCEN

Financial Crimes Enforcement Network A division of the U.S. Treasury. FinCEN makes information from SARs (Suspicious Activity Reports) available to law enforcement and regulatory agencies to support their investigations and examinations.

Money Laundering

Money laundering is the process of using the financial system to exchange "dirty" money (funds generated through illegal activity) for "clean" money (funds that appear to be the proceeds of legitimate activities).

NCUA

National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) - The independent federal agency that regulates, charters, and supervises federal credit unions. With the backing of the full faith and credit of the U.S. Government, NCUA operates and manages the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund (NCUSIF), insuring the deposits of nearly 100 million account holders in all federal credit unions and the overwhelming majority of state-chartered credit unions.

OFAC List/Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List

Office of Foreign Assets Control A list of individuals and companies owned by or acting on behalf of targeted countries that is published by OFAC (Office of Foreign Assets Control). The list also names individuals, groups, and entities, such as terrorists or narcotics traffickers designated under programs that are not country-specific. These individuals are called "Specially Designated Nationals" or "SDNs." Their assets are blocked, and U.S. persons are generally prohibited from dealing with them. The SDN list is frequently updated; however, there is no predetermined timetable for updating. Names are added and removed as appropriate.

SDNs

Specially Designated Nationals

SARs

Suspicious Activity Report An electronic filing with FinCEN by the financial institution that reports known or suspected violations of the law or observed suspicious activity.

MIP

The Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) requires a financial institution to establish Member Identification Program (MIP) that meets minimum requirements. To help the government fight the funding of terrorism and money laundering activities, federal law requires all financial institutions to obtain, verify, and record information that identifies each person who opens an account. The institution's staff will ask for the member's name, address, and date of birth. The institution will ask to see a valid photo I.D., such as a driver's license. Additionally, before any new account is opened, the member's name must be checked against the OFAC list.