Reported by United States Senate

(Excerpt shared below. To real full report and copy of legislation, go to: https://www.banking.senate.gov/newsroom/majority/chairman-scott-senator-kennedy-introduce-bill-to-modernize-the-bank-secrecy-act and https://www.banking.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/streamline_act_bill_text_final_draft_jn9mkhf4cccp.pdf)

Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott (R-S.C.) joined Senators John Kennedy (R-La.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Katie Britt (R-Ala), Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.), and Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio) to introduce a bill to increase reporting thresholds for currency transaction reports (CTRs) and suspicious activity reports (SARs) under the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA). The Streamlining Transaction Reporting and Ensuring Anti-Money Laundering Improvements for a New Era Act(STREAMLINE Act) will bring much-needed modernization to a law that is intended to identify legitimate illicit financial activity rather than overwhelm financial institutions with excessive paperwork. These reporting thresholds were established under the Bank Secrecy Act and have not been adjusted since its enaction in 1970.

The American Bankers Association, America’s Credit Unions, and the Independent Community Bankers of America have all voiced support for the legislation.

BACKGROUND:

The Bank Secrecy Act was established in 1970 and serves as a cornerstone of the United States’ anti-money laundering (AML) framework. The legislation requires banks, credit unions, and other financial institutions to assist government agencies with detecting and preventing financial crimes such as money laundering, terrorism financing, and other criminal abuse. The Department of Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) is tasked with oversight and collects detailed records and relevant reports from financial institutions.

Under current law, financial institutions are required to report certain financial transactions. A currency transaction report is required for cash transactions exceeding $10,000, and a suspicious activity report is required for transactions exceeding $2,000 or $5,000 depending on the circumstances. Since the inception of the Bank Secrecy Act, these threshold requirements for transaction reports have not been adjusted.

The Streamlining Transaction Reporting and Ensuring Anti-Money Laundering Improvements for a New Era Act raises these thresholds from $10,000 to $30,000, $2,000 to $3,000, and $5,000 to $10,000 respectively, and requires the Treasury Department to adjust these amounts every five years to account for inflation.