QUESTION
I own a small mortgage brokerage and have an
Anti-Money Laundering Program in place pursuant to the Bank Secrecy Act (“BSA”)
and FinCEN guidelines. We have an AML officer. In addition, in August of
2012, my employees and I completed a training webinar on AML.
Is there anything more I am required to do to be compliant
with the Anti-Money Laundering (“AML”) rules?
ANSWER
Yes. We previously answered the question
(see our FAQ, October 10, 2013). Yet, based upon what we are seeing, many non-banks
and mortgage brokers and are still confused with the BSA requirements.
As of August 13, 2012, non-banks and mortgage brokers
(regardless of size) have been required to comply with the anti-money
laundering and suspicious activity reporting requirements of the BSA. Having
a policy in place and completing the initial training are just two of these
requirements.
The following are additional requirements under the BSA:
[31 CFR 1029.210(b)(1)]
2) All employees of the non-bank and mortgage broker are required to receive training in AML compliance immediately upon commencement of their employment and annually thereafter. Evidence of such training and the training materials must be maintained by the entity and ready to be produced upon request.
[31 CFR 1029.210(b)(3)]
3) All non-banks and mortgage brokers must perform an independent test (i.e., audit) of their AML program by an outside, independent, qualified third-party or internally by a qualified member of the staff who is completely independent from an entity’s AML compliance team. This test must be performed within 12-18 months of the August of 2012 implementation date and every 12-18 months thereafter.
[31 CFR 1029.210(b)(4)]
Please note that the foregoing is not intended to be a list
of all of the requirements under the BSA.
Michael Barone
Director/Legal & Regulatory Compliance
