Financial Crimes Enforcement Network March 2012 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

As part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, FinCEN invites comment on a proposed renewal, without change, to information collections found in regulations requiring futures commission merchants, introducing brokers, banks, savings associations, credit unions, certain non-federally regulated banks, mutual funds, and broker-dealers, to develop and implement customer identification programs reasonably designed to prevent those financial institutions from being used to facilitate money laundering and the financing of terrorist activities. This request for comment is being made pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13, 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A).

FinCEN, after consulting with staffs of various Federal supervisory authorities, is issuing this advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) to solicit public comment on a wide range of questions pertaining to the development of a customer due diligence (CDD) regulation that would codify, clarify, consolidate, and strengthen existing CDD regulatory requirements and supervisory expectations, and establish a categorical requirement for financial institutions to identify beneficial ownership of their accountholders, subject to risk-based verification and pursuant to an alternative definition of beneficial ownership as described below.