Bank Secrecy Act (BSA)

The Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) is intended to safeguard the U.S financial system from the abuses of financial crime, including money laundering, terrorist financing and other illicit financial transactions. BSA creates an investigative "paper trail" by establishing regulatory recordkeeping and reporting standards for banks and other financial service providers. The BSA requires financial institutions to implement adequate risk-based recording and monitoring systems to identify, research and report suspicious activity, emphasizing high-risk products, services, customers and geographic locations particular to the institution.

Failure to comply with the BSA may lead to various sanctions and ultimately to a cease and desist order. Compliance with the BSA is therefore essential and Enterprise Risk Management can help you organization. Our seasoned consultants can help with the following BSA aspects:

1. Perform an independent BSA audit
2. Perform and document a comprehensive BSA risk assessment
3. Establish and document an effective BSA Compliance Program
4. Establish an effective Customer Identification Program
5. Establish effective Customer Due Diligence
6. Establish effective Suspicious Activity Reporting and Currency Transaction Reporting
7. Establish effective information sharing practices
8. Establish effective purchase and sale of monetary instruments recordkeeping and monitoring practices
9. Establish effective fund transfer record keeping and monitoring practices
10. Establish effective correspondent account and private banking due diligence
11. Establish effective policies, procedures and processes to handle FinCEN special measures
12. Establish effective foreign bank and financial account reporting practices
13. Establish effective international transportation of currency or monetary instrument reporting practices
14. Establish effective OFAC practices
15. Develop or perform an independent evaluation of the MIS automated systems used to record, monitor and report BSA activities