For immediate release

The Federal Reserve Board on Wednesday announced that it is seeking public comment on a proposal to amend Regulation K to require Edge and Agreement corporations and U.S. branches, agencies, and other offices of foreign banks supervised by the Board to establish and maintain procedures reasonably designed to ensure and monitor compliance with the Bank Secrecy Act and related regulations. Comments on the Board’s proposal should be submitted by June 30, 2003. The Bank Secrecy Act generally requires a financial institution doing business in the United States to keep records and make reports that have a high degree of usefulness in criminal, tax, or regulatory proceedings. Domestic financial institutions, such as state member banks subject to the Board’s Regulation H, already have been required to establish and maintain such procedures. The Board’s proposal to amend Regulation K is designed to require Edge and Agreement corporations and U.S. branches, agencies, and other offices of foreign banks to implement and maintain similar compliance programs. The Board’s proposal is designed to be consistent with regulations recently issued by the Department of the Treasury under section 352 of the USA PATRIOT Act, which requires all financial institutions to maintain effective anti-money-laundering programs. The Board believes that the proposed regulation will not impose any material administrative burden for affected institutions because, in supervising these institutions to ensure safety and soundness, the Board has consistently expected such entities to maintain programs to ensure compliance with all applicable provisions of the Bank Secrecy Act. Attached is the Board's Notice of Proposed Rulemaking. Attachment (100 KB PDF)

2003 Banking and consumer regulatory policy