The U.S. Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network
(FinCEN) recently announced a final rule outlining revised provisions for
accessing beneficial ownership information (BOI) under section 6403 of the
Corporate Transparency Act (CTA). Multiple regulatory agencies released a joint
statement to clarify key elements of the new “access rule” intended to balance
accessibility for authorized entities with the need to safeguard BOI.
FinCEN, the Federal Reserve, the Federal Deposit Insurance
Corp. (FDIC), the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), the Office of
the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and state regulators collaborated in issuing
the statement.
Among the noticeable points about the access rule is the
fact it does not create a new regulatory requirement for financial entities to
access BOI and does not necessitate changes in existing Bank Secrecy Act (BSA)
or anti-money laundering (AML) compliance programs designed to adhere to the
current “customer due diligence” (CDD) rule. However, any access to or use of BOI
must comply with CTA and access rule guidelines, according to the statement.
“To date, FinCEN has issued two rules – and will be issuing
a third rule – to implement the CTA,” the regulators wrote. “The first
rule regarding the reporting of BOI to FinCEN (the ‘reporting rule’) was issued
on Sept. 30, 2022. The second rule is the access rule, which governs access to
and use of BOI. The third rule, which has not yet been proposed, will revise
the current CDD
Rule.”
The regulators noted the CTA directs FinCEN to update the existing
CDD Rule in the following ways:
·
“(i) bring it into conformity with the AML Act
of 2020, including the CTA;
·
“(ii) account for financial institutions’ access
to BOI reported to FinCEN so financial institutions may confirm BOI provided
directly to them for the purpose of facilitating their compliance with AML,
countering the financing of terrorism, and customer due diligence requirements;
and
·
“(iii) reduce any burdens on financial
institutions and legal entity customers that are, in light of the CTA,
unnecessary or duplicative.”
Furthermore, the regulators point out two issues stemming
from FinCEN’s previous efforts to implement the CTA, including the reporting rule,
which attempted to clarify specifics related to BOI reporting requirements.
“A third forthcoming rule aims to revise the current CDD Rule,”
the regulators wrote. “This revision aligns it with the AML Act of 2020,
facilitates compliance for financial institutions, and reduces unnecessary
burdens.”