The Agencies issued a joint Fact Sheet that lists considerations for a risk-based approach when it comes to charities and nonprofits. While the Fact Sheet purports to not impose additional obligations on banks, it is hard to view the “considerations” as anything but.

On November 19, 2020, the Federal Reserve, the FDIC, the FinCEN, the NCUA, and the OCC (collectively, Agencies) issued a press release and joint fact sheet (Fact Sheet) to provide clarity to banks on how to apply a risk-based approach to charities and other nonprofit organizations (NPOs), consistent with the customer due diligence (CDD) requirements contained in FinCEN’s CDD Rule.

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The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued a final rule that requires minimum standards for anti-money laundering (AML) programs for banks lacking a federal functional regulator (the Federal Reserve Board, OCC, FDIC, OTS, NCAU, and SEC), i.e., banks and similar financial institutions that are subject only to state regulation and supervision, and certain international banking entities (collectively, “covered banking entities”).

The final rule also extends customer identification program (CIP) and beneficial ownership requirements (also known as the Customer Due Diligence or CDD Rule) to covered banking entities. Such banking entities may include private banks, international banking entities, non-federally-insured credit unions, state banks, savings associations, and trust companies.

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The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) published guidance (Guidance) on customer due diligence requirements under the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) for hemp-related customers on June 29. The Guidance, which recognizes hemp as defined under the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (the 2018 Farm Bill), advises financial institutions on their BSA customer due diligence requirements for hemp customers. This Guidance supplements—but does not replace—the December 3, 2019 interagency statement on providing financial services to customers engaged in hemp-related businesses.

Notably, the Guidance allows financial institutions to confirm a hemp grower’s compliance with applicable legal requirements by obtaining an attestation from the grower that it is validly licensed, or by obtaining a copy of that license. Further due diligence above and beyond these core requirements may be needed, however, depending on the financial institution’s assessment of the level of risk posed by a particular hemp customer. Thus, financial institutions are expected to apply their risk-based customer due diligence policies and procedures to determine whether additional information about a particular hemp customer is required, and to obtain additional information as may be necessary, consistent with the risk profile of the customer.

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The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and the US Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, in conjunction with the Conference of State Bank Supervisors, issued a joint statement on December 3 to provide more clarity regarding Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) compliance for banks that service customers with hemp-related businesses.

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A working group composed of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the National Credit Union Administration, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and the US Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network issued a joint statement on July 22 that is intended to provide greater clarity regarding the risk-focused approach used by examiners for planning and performing Bank Secrecy Act (BSA)/anti-money laundering (AML) examinations.

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