OCC proposes to let certain banks skip money-laundering reports

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency issued a proposal Thursday to allow certain banks to opt out of filing suspicious activity reports, a compliance requirement that often draws industry complaints.

The proposed rule would exempt national banks from certain SAR requirements provided they’ve developed “innovative solutions intended to meet Bank Secrecy Act requirements more efficiently and effectively,” according to a press release.

Each of the four bank and credit union regulators — the OCC, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., Federal Reserve, and National Credit Union Administration — have their own regulations involving anti-money-laundering reporting. The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network uses those reports to work with law enforcement to identify illicit activity within the financial system.

For a bank to be fully exempted from the reporting obligations, it would also need to also need to receive an exemption from Fincen, according to the OCC proposal.