Compliance, Enforcement, International, Regulatory

The OCC’s 2019 annual report addresses anti-money laundering risks for financial institutions

January 21, 2020 Clifford E. Kirsch, Editor Leave a comment

The Annual Report summarizes the OCC developments against its 2019 strategic priorities, including its priority to reduce the burden of Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) and Anti Money Laundering (AML) compliance while protecting the financial system.

In 2019, the OCC, along with the other federal financial regulatory agencies, issued interpretive guidance statements on using collaborative arrangements to share resources to manage BSA/AML obligations, considering innovative technologies to meet BSA/AML compliance obligations, clarifying existing risk-focused approaches to examinations of financial institutions’ BSA/AML compliance programs, and clarifying suspicious activity report (SAR) filing requirements for banks providing financial services to hemp-related businesses.

The OCC appears very focused on encouraging banks to adopt innovative technologies to manage their BSA/AML compliance risks, and this trend should continue in 2020 as technological solutions evolve even further.

FINRA 2.0: FINRA Releases Its 2020 Risk Monitoring and Examination Priorities

January 17, 2020 Cheryl L. Haas Leave a comment

FINRA’s examination program has undergone its most significant reorganization in decades. As stated in this press release, FINRA’s goal for the reorganization was to “consolidate its Examination and Risk Monitoring Programs, integrating three separate programs into a single, unified program to drive more effective oversight and greater consistency, eliminate duplication and create a single point of accountability for the examination of firms.” The new look of the examination program was released, along with new management, on Dec. 12, 2019.

For 2020, FINRA is prioritizing risk monitoring, surveillance, and examination programs to further its mission of investor protection and market integrity. The examination priorities are organized around four themes, which build on FINRA’s priorities from prior years: Sales practice and supervision; Market integrity; Financial management; and Firm operations.

Congress delivers SECURE and more in year-end benefits bonanza

January 7, 2020 Clifford E. Kirsch, Editor Leave a comment

On December 20, 2019, President Trump signed into law a comprehensive government funding bill (the Appropriations Act, including the SECURE Act) that includes substantial employee benefits-related provisions. The legislation affects both retirement and health plans, has some immediate and January 1, 2020 effective dates, and will have a significant impact on the way that many plans are operated. Many of the SECURE Act provisions are intended to encourage the use of lifetime income products (such as annuities) in 401(k) plans and other defined contribution plans, while others are designed to encourage small-to-midsized employers that do not currently offer retirement plans to employees to adopt a plan. Other provisions are intended to increase retirement savings in existing plans, and some are simply intended to increase revenue.