View original document

The full text on this page is automatically extracted from the file linked above and may contain errors and inconsistencies.

FEDERAL RESERVE BANK
OF NEW YORK

[

Circular No. 10795
July 25, 1995

"1

REPORTING SUSPECTED CRIMES
AND SUSPICIOUS FINANCIAL TRANSACTIONS
Comment Requested on Proposal by September 1
To All State Member Banks, Bank Holding Companies,
Branches, Agencies, and Representative Offices of Foreign Banks, and
Edge and Agreement Corporations, in the Second Federal Reserve District:

The following statem ent has been issued by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve
System:
The Federal Reserve Board has proposed rules to simplify the process for reporting suspected
crimes and suspicious financial transactions by banking organizations supervised by the Federal
Reserve.
Public comment on the Board’s proposal is due by September 1, 1995.
The proposal was developed as part of an interagency effort to reduce reporting burdens, while
at the same time enhancing the ability of federal law enforcement authorities to investigate and
prosecute criminal offenses involving our Nation’s financial institutions.
The same proposal will be issued by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Federal
Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Office of Thrift Supervision, and the National Credit Union
Administration.
The proposed new suspicious activity reporting rules:
• Reduce the number of reports that banking organizations must file by raising the mandatory
reporting dollar thresholds for potential criminal violations. The Board estimates that the
number of reports will be reduced by 25 percent.
• Reduce the number of copies that must be submitted by requiring banking organizations to
send a single copy of each referral to one place — the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network
of the Department of the Treasury (FinCEN). At present, financial institutions have to submit
copies of criminal referral forms to as many as six different agencies.
• Clarify the procedures for filing referrals by implementing a new, consolidated interagency
report form, the Suspicious Activity Report (SAR), that melds and replaces all other criminal
referral forms and suspicious financial transaction reports, such as suspicious currency
transaction reports.
The new suspicious activity reporting process will also simplify the task of filing reports of
known or suspected criminal offenses. The new SAR form will require less information than its
predecessor forms, and can be completed manually or by using software that will be provided by the
Board to the banking organizations it supervises. Banking organizations will have the option of filing
SARs in various electronic forms instead of on paper.




The collection of information from the SARs will also assist law enforcement agencies. SARs
will be entered into a newly created computer database accessible by each of the federal law
enforcement agencies responsible for investigating and prosecuting suspected violations of federal
criminal laws, as well as by the Board and the other federal financial institutions supervisory agencies.
The Board and the other federal banking agencies plan to begin use of the new suspicious activity
reporting process by October 1995.

Printed below and on the following pages is the text of the Board’s proposal. Comments
thereon should be submitted by September 1, 1995, and may be sent to the Board, as specified
in the notice, or, at this Bank, to Joseph E. Buckley, Jr., Team Leader, Advisory and Technical
Services Function (Tel. No. 212-720-2393).

W

il l ia m

J.

M

cD onough

,

President.
Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 127 / M onday, July 3, 1995 / Proposed Rules

FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM

DATES: Comments must be received on
or before September 1, 1995.
12 CFR Parts 208, 211, and 225
ADDRESSES: Comments should refer to
Docket No, R-0885, and may be mailed
[Regulations H, K, and Y; Docket No. R 0885]
to William W. Wiles, Secretary, Board of
Governors of the Federal Reserve
Membership of State Banking
System, 20th and Constitution Avenue,
Institutions in the Federal Reserve
NW„ Washington, DC 20551. Comments
System; International Banking
also may be delivered to Room B-2222
Operations; Bank Holding Companies of the Eccles Building between 8:45 a.m.
and Change in Bank Control
and 5:15 p.m. weekdays, or to the guard
station in the Eccles Building courtyard
AGENCY: Board of Governors of the
on 20th Street, NW (between
Federal Reserve System.
ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking. Constitution Avenue and C Street) at
any time. Comments received will be
SUMMARY: The Board of Governors of the available for inspection in Room MPFederal Reserve System (the Board) is
500 of the Martin Building between 9
proposing to revise its regulations on
a.m. and 5 p.m. weekdays, except as
reporting of suspicious activities by the provided in 12 CFR 261.8 of the Board’s
domestic and foreign banking
rules regarding availability of
organizations supervised by the Federal information.
Reserve, including the reporting of
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
suspicious financial transactions such
Herbert A Bi ern, Deputy Associate
as suspected violations of the Bank
Director, Di vision of Banking
Secrecy Act (BSA). As proposed, these
Supervision and Regulation, (202) 452rules implement a new interagency
2520, or Richard A. Small, Special
suspicious activity referral process. The Counsel, Division of Banking
rules also reduce substantially the
Supervision and Regulation, (202) 452burden on banking organizations in
5235; for the hearing impaired only
reporting suspicious activities while
contact Dorothea Thompson,
enhancing access to such information by Telecommunication Device for the Deaf,
(202) 452-3544, Board of Governors of
the Federal law enforcement agencies,
the Federal Reserve System, 20th Street
the Federal financial institutions
and Constitution Avenue, NW.,
supervisory agencies and the
Washington, DC 20551.
Department of the Treasury.




34481

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background
The Federal financial institutions
supervisory agencies (the A gencies)1
and the Department of the Treasury (the
Treasury)2 are responsible for ensuring
that financial institutions apprise
Federal law enforcement authorities of
any known or suspected violation of a
Federal criminal statute and of any
suspicious financial transaction.
Suspicious financial transactions, which
will be the subject of regulations and
other guidance to be issued by the
Treasury, can include transactions that
the banking organization suspects
involved funds derived from illicit
activities, were conducted for the
purpose of hiding or disguising funds
from illicit activity, in any way violated
the Federal money laundering statutes
(18 U.S.C. 1956 and 1957), were
potentially designed to evade the
reporting or recordkeeping requirements
of the BSA (31 U.S.C. 5311 through
5330), and transactions that the bank
believes were suspicious for any other
reason.
Fraud, abusive insider transactions,
check kiting schemes, money
1The Federal financial institutions supervisory
agencies are the Board, the Office of the
Comptroller of the Currency, the Office of Thrift
Supervision, the Federal Deposit Insurance
Corporation, and the National Credit Union
Administration.
2Through Treasury’s Financial Crimes
Enforcement Network (FinCEN).

34482

Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 127 / Monday, July 3, 1995 / Proposed Rules

laundering, and other crimes can pose
Proposal
serious threats to a financial
The Board proposes to revise 12 CFR
institution’s continued viability and, if
Parts 208, 211, and 225 by updating the
unchecked, can undermine the public
current rules governing the filing of
confidence in the nation’s financial
criminal referral reports; expanding the
industry. The Agencies and Federal law rules pertinent to the activities of state
enforcement agencies need to receive
member banks, bank holding companies
timely and detailed information
and their nonbank subsidiaries, Edge
regarding suspected criminal activity to and Agreement corporations, and the
determine whether investigations,
U.S. branches and agencies of foreign
administrative actions, or criminal
banks to cover suspicious financial
prosecutions are warranted.
transactions; implementing the new
An interagency Bank Fraud Working
SAR; and eliminating overly
Group (BFWG), consisting of
burdensome
reporting requirements.
representatives from many Federal
This
action
should
improve reporting of
agencies, including the Agencies and
known or suspected violations and
law enforcement agencies such as the
suspicious financial transactions
U.S. Department of Justice and the
relating to financial institutions while
Federal Bureau of Investigation, was
providing uniform data for entry into a
formed in 1984. The BFWG addresses
new interagency computer database.
substantive issues, promotes
The Board expects that each of the other
cooperation among the Agencies and
Agencies will be making substantially
Federal and state law enforcement
similar changes to their criminal referral
agencies, and improves the Federal
rules contemporaneously.
government’s response to white collar
The principal proposed changes to the
crime in financial institutions. It is
under the auspices of the BFWG that the Board’s current criminal referral
reporting rules are discussed below.
revisions to these regulations and the
They include the following notable
reporting requirements are being made.
Suspicious Activity Report
The Agencies have been working on
a project to improve the criminal
referral process, to reduce the reporting
burden on banking organizations, and to
eliminate confusion associated with the
current duplicative reporting of
suspicious financial transactions in
criminal referral forms and currency
transactions reports (CTRs).
Contemporaneously, the Treasury
analyzed the need to implement the
procedures for reporting suspicious
financial transactions by banks
following the enactment of the
Annunzio-Wylie Anti-Money
Laundering Act of 1992. As a result of
these reviews, the Agencies and
Treasury approved the development of
a new referral process that includes
suspicious financial transaction
reporting.

To implement the reporting process
and to reduce unnecessary burdens
associated with these various reporting
requirements, the Agencies and FinCEN
developed a new form for reporting
known or suspected Federal criminal
law violations and suspicious financial
transactions. The new form is
designated the Suspicious Activity
Report (SAR). The new referral process
and the SAR reduce the burden on
financial institutions for reporting
known or suspected violations and
suspicious financial transactions. The
Agencies anticipate that the new
process will be instituted by October,
1995.




changes: (i) simplifying and shortening
the referral form; (ii) raising the
mandatory reporting thresholds for
criminal offenses, thereby reducing
banking organizations’ reporting
burdens; (iii) filing only one form with
a single repository, rather than
submitting multiple copies to several
Federal law enforcement and banking
agencies, thereby further reducing
reporting burdens; and (iv) clarifying
the criminal referral and suspicious
financial transaction reporting
requirements of the Agencies and
Treasury associated with suspicious
financial transactions, thereby
eliminating confusion concerning the
filing of referrals related to suspicious
financial transactions of less than
$10,000 and eliminating duplicative
referrals.
The proposal also involves the
manner in which financial institutions
file a SAR. In following the instructions
on a SAR, banking organizations may
file the referral form in several ways,
including submitting an original form or
a photocopy, and they may file a SAR
by magnetic means, such as by a
computer disk. In the future, the Board
and the other Agencies anticipate that a
banking organization will be able to file
a SAR electronically.
The Agencies, working with FinCEN,
are developing computer software to
assist financial institutions in preparing
and filing SARs. The software will allow
a banking organization to complete a
SAR, to save the SAR on its computers,
and to print a hard copy of the SAR for

its own records. The computer software
will also enable a financial institution to
file a SAR using various forms of
magnetic media, such as computer disk
or magnetic tape. The Board will make
the software available to all domestic
and foreign banking organizations it
supervises.
The changes are being made to
§ 208.20 of Regulation H of the Board
(12 CFR 208.20) relating to the criminal
referral reporting responsibilities of
state member banks. Sections 211.8 and
211.24(f) of Regulation K of the Board
and § 225.4(f) of Regulation Y of the
Board make § 208.20 of Regulation H of
the Board applicable to Edge and
Agreement corporations, the U.S.
branches and agencies of foreign banks
(except a Federal branch or Federal
agency or a state branch that is insured
by the Federal Deposit Insurance
Corporation), a representative office of a
foreign bank, and bank holding
companies and their nonbank
subsidiaries, respectively. This means
that the changes applicable to state
member banks discussed below will
also be applicable to the suspicious
activity reporting responsibilities of all
of the other domestic and foreign
banking organizations supervised by the
Federal Reserve, including bank holding
companies, Edge corporations, and the
U.S. branches and agencies of foreign
banks. The only modifications being
made to the current provisions of
§§211.8 and 211.24(f) of Regulation K,
and § 225.4(f) of Regulation Y are
changes to the name of form—from
“criminal referral form” to a SAR—and
a change in the heading of § 225.4(f) of
Regulation Y to “Suspicious Activity
Report” from “Criminal referral report.”
Section 208.20(a)

Purpose

The proposal clarifies the scope of the
current rufe. Under the proposal, the
SAR replaces the various criminal
referral forms that the Agencies
currently require banking organizations
to file. Also a state member bank or
other type of financial institution files a
SAR instead of a currency transaction
report (CTR) to report a suspicious
financial transaction involving less than
$10,000 in currency.3
•’ The BSA requires all financial institutions to file
CTRs in accordance with the Treasury’s
implementing regulations (31 CFR Part 103). Part
103 requires a bank to file a CTR whenever a
currency transaction exceeds $10,000. If a currency
transaction exceeds $10,000 and is suspicious, the
state member bank, under these new requirements,
will file both a CTR (reporting the currency
transaction) and a SAR (reporting the suspicious
criminal aspect of the transaction). If a currency
transaction equals or is below $10,000 but is
suspicious, the bank will only file a SAR.

Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 127 / Monday, July 3, 1995 / Proposed Rules
Combining suspicious financial
transaction reporting and criminal
referral reporting should reduce
confusion, increase the accuracy and
efficiency of reporting, and reduce the
burden on financial institutions in
reporting known or suspected
violations, including suspicious
financial transactions.
Section 208.20(b) Definitions
In addition to the current definition of
“institution-affiliated party” set forth at
12 CFR 208.20(b), the proposed
§ 208.20(b) defines the following terms:
“FinCEN” and “SAR.” The definitions
should make the rule easier to interpret
and apply.
Section § 208.20(c) Reports Required
Proposed § 208.20(c), which replaces
the current subsection, clarifies and
expands the provision that requires a
state member bank to file a SAR. This
provision raises the dollar thresholds
that trigger a filing requirement. It also
modifies the scope of events that a state
member bank must report by requiring
that a bank file a SAR to report a
suspicious financial transaction.
Under the current rule, the Board
requires a state member bank to file a
criminal referral form with many
different Federal agencies. The
proposal, which replaces all other
requirements for filing criminal and
suspicious financial transaction
referrals, requires a bank to file only a
single SAR at one location, rather than
the multiple copies of the criminal
referral form that must now be filed
with various Federal agencies.
Under proposed § 208.20(c), a state
member bank effectively files a SAR
with all appropriate Federal law
enforcement agencies by sending a
single copy of the SAR to FinCEN,
whose address will be printed on the
SAR.
FinCEN will input the information
contained on the SARs into a newly
created database that FinCEN will
maintain. This process meets the
regulatory requirement that a banking
organization refer any known or
suspected criminal violation to the
various Federal law enforcement
agencies. The database will enhance
Federal law enforcement and bank
supervisory agencies’ ability to track,
investigate, and prosecute, criminally,
civilly, and administratively,
individuals and entities suspected of
violating Federal criminal law.
This cnange ensures that all SARs are
placed in the database at FinCEN and
that the information is made available
on computer to the appropriate law
enforcement and supervisory agencies




as quickly as possible. This change will
reduce the filing burdens of banking
organizations.
The proposal modifies current
§ 208.20(c)(2), which requires reporting
of known or suspected criminal activity
when a state member bank has a
substantial basis for identifying a noninsider suspect where bank funds or
other assets involve or aggregate $1,000.
or more. Proposed § 208.20(c)(2) raises
the reporting threshold to $5,000,
thereby reducing the reporting burden
on banking organizations.
The proposal also modifies current
§ 208.20(c)(3), which requires a state
member bank to report any known or
suspected criminal violation involving
$5,000 or more where the bank has no
substantial basis for identifying a
suspect. Specifically, proposed
§ 208.20(c)(3) raises the dollar reporting
threshold from $5,000 to $25,000,
thereby reducing further the reporting
burden on banking organizations.
Proposed § 208.20(c)(4) requires a
state member bank to report any
financial transaction, regardless of the
dollar amount, that: (i) the bank
suspects involved funds derived from
illicit activity, was conducted for the
purpose of hiding or disguising funds
from illicit activity, or in any way
violated Federal money laundering
statutes (18 U.S.C. 1956 and 1957); (ii)
the bank suspects was potentially
designed to evade the reporting or
recordkeeping requirements of the BSA
(31 U.S.C. 5311 through 5330); or (iii)
the bank believes to be suspicious for
any reason.
Section 208.20(d) Time for Reporting
Proposed § 208.20(d) sets forth the
time requirements a state member bank
must meet when filing a SAR. The
proposal clarifies the reporting
requirement in the event a suspect or
group of suspects is not immediately
identified. It does not substantively
change the current requirements.
Section 208.20(e) Reporting to State
and Local Authorities
No changes are being proposed to the
current § 208.20(e).
Section 208.20(f) Exceptions
No changes are being made to the
current § 208.20(f).
Section 208.20(g) Retention of Records
Current § 208.20(g) requires a state
member bank to retain a copy of the
criminal referral form and the original of
any related documentation relating to a
referral for a period of 10 years from the
date of the report. No changes are being
made to this requirement. The proposal

34483

clarifies the requirement that banking
organizations make all supporting
documentation available to appropriate
law enforcement agencies upon request.
This approach ensures that Federal law
enforcement agencies and the Agencies,
upon request, have access to any
documentation necessary to prosecute a
violation or pursue an administrative
action by requiring financial institutions
to identify and preserve underlying
documentation for 10 years and treat
such underlying documentation as
having been filed with the SAR.
Section 208.20(h) Notification of the
Board of Directors
Current § 208.20(h) requires
notification regarding the filing of a SAR
to a state member bank’s board of
directors by the bank’s management To
reduce burdens on the boards of
directors of state member banks,
especially those large banks that file
many SARs, the proposal recognizes
that the required notification may be
made to a committee of the board.
Section 208.20(i) Compliance
Current § 208.20(i) is headed
“Penalty”. The heading of the
subsection is changed to reflect better
the range of informal and formal
supervisory actions that the Board can
take to address suspicious activity
reporting deficiencies.
Section 208.20(j) Confidentiality of
SARs
The Board proposes to add a new
subsection relating to the confidentiality
of a SAR. Proposed § 208.20(j) states
that a SAR and the information
contained in a SAR are confidential, and
that a state member bank should decline
to produce a SAR citing applicable law
(e.g., 31 U.S.C. 5318(g)) and the
provisions of § 208.20 of Regulation H of
the Board.

Comments
The Board invites public comment on
all aspects of this proposal.

Regulatory Flexibility Act
Because this proposal is designed to
reduce the burden on financial
institutions for reporting suspicious
financial transactions, the Board
certifies that this proposed regulation
will not have a significant financial
impact on a substantial number of small
banks or other small entities.

Paperwork Reduction Act
In accordance with Section 3507 of
the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980,
the suspicious activity report regulation
was approved under authority delegated

34484

Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 127 / Monday, July 3, 1995 / Proposed Rules

transactions conducted through the
bank and involving or aggregating
$25,000 or more in funds or other assets,
where the bank believes that it was
2.
Section 208.20 is revised to read as either an actual or potential victim of a
criminal violation, or series of criminal
follows:
violations, or that the bank was used to
§ 208.20 Suspicious Activity Reports.
facilitate a criminal transaction, even
(a) Purpose. This section ensures that
though there is no basis for identifying
a state member bank files a Suspicious
a possible suspect or group of suspects.
Activity Report when it detects a known
(4)
Whenever the state member hank
or suspected violation of Federal law or detects any financial transaction
suspicious financial transaction. This
conducted, or attempted, at the bank
section applies to all state member
involving funds derived from illicit
banks.
activity or for the purpose of hiding or
(b) Definitions. For the purposes of
disguising funds from illicit activities,
this section:
or for the possible violation or evasion
(1) FinCEN means the Financial
of the Bank Secrecy Act reporting and/
Crimes Enforcement Network of the
or recordkeeping requirements, even if
Department of the Treasury.
there is no substantial basis for
(2) Institution-affiliated party means
identifying a possible suspect or group
any institution-affiliated party as that
of suspects. A suspicious activity report
term is defined in Sections 3(u) and
must be filed for all instances where
8(b)(3) and (4) of the Federal Deposit
money laundering is suspected or where
Insurance Act (12 U.S.C. 1813(u) and
the bank believes that the transaction
1818(b)(3) and (4)).
was suspicious for any reason,
(3) SAR means a Suspicious Activity
regardless of the identification of a
Executive Order 12291
Report form proscribed by the Board.
potential suspect or group of suspects or
(c) SARs required. A state member
The Board has determined that this
the amount involved in the violation.
bank shall file a SAR with the
proposed regulation is not a “major
(d) Time for reporting. A state member
appropriate Federal law enforcement
rule” and therefore does not require a
bank is required to file a SAR no later
agencies and the Department of the
than 30 calendar days after the date of
regulatory impact analysis.
Treasury and in accordance with the
initial detection of the possible, known
List of Subjects
form’s instructions, by sending a
or suspected criminal violation or series
completed SAR to FinCEN in the
12 CFR Part 208
of criminal violations. If no suspect was
following circumstances:
identified on the date of detection of the
Accounting, Agriculture, Banks,
(1) Whenever the state member bank
incident triggering the filing, a state
banking, Confidential business
detects any known or suspected Federal member bank may delay filing a SAR for
information, Crime, Currency, Federal
criminal violation, or pattern of criminal an additional 30 calendar days after the
Reserve System, Mortgages, Reporting
violations, committed against the bank
identification of the suspect. In no case
and recordkeeping requirements,
or involving a transaction conducted
shall reporting be delayed more than 60
Securities.
through the bank, where the bank has a
calendar days after the date of the loss
12 CFR Part 211
substantial basis for identifying one of
or the possible known or suspected
its directors, officers, employees, agents, criminal violation or series of criminal
Exports, Federal Reserve System,
or other institution-affiliated parties as
violations. In situations involving
Foreign banking, Holding companies,
having committed or aided in the
violations requiring immediate
Investments, Reporting and
commission of a criminal act regardless
attention, such as when a reportable
recordkeeping requirements.
of the amount involved in the violation. violation is on-going, the financial
12 CFR Part 225
(2) Whenever the state member bank
institution shall immediately notify, by
detects any known or suspected Federal telephone, the appropriate law
Administrative practice and
criminal violation, or pattern of criminal enforcement authority in addition to
procedures, Banks, banking, Federal
violations, committed against the bank
Reserve System, Holding companies,
filing a timely SAR.
or involving a transaction or
Reporting and recordkeeping
(e) Reports to state and local
transactions conducted through the
authorities. State member banks are
requirements, Securities.
bank and involving or aggregating
For the reasons set out in the
encouraged to file a copy of the SAR
$5,000 or more in funds or other assets,
preamble, Parts 208, 211, and 225 of
with state and local law enforcement
where the bank believes that it was
chapter II of title 12 of the Code of
agencies where appropriate.
either an actual or potential victim of a
Federal Regulations is proposed to be
(f) Exceptions. (1) A state member
criminal violation, or series of criminal
amended to read as follows:
bank need not file a SAR for a robbery
violations, or that the bank was used to
or burglary committed or attempted that
facilitate a criminal transaction, and that is reported to appropriate law
PART 208—MEMBERSHIP OF STATE
the bank has a substantial basis for
enforcement authorities.
BANKING INSTITUTIONS IN THE
identifying a possible suspect or group
(2)
A state member bank need not file
FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM
of suspects.
a SAR for lost, missing, counterfeit, or
(REGULATION H)
(3) Whenever the state member bank
stolen securities if it files a report
1.
The authority citation for 12 CFR detects any known or suspected Federal pursuant to the reporting requirements
part 208 continues to read as follows:
criminal violation, or pattern of criminal of 17 CFR 240.17f-l.
violations, committed egainst the bank
(g) Retention o f records. A state
Authority: 12 U.S.C. 36, 248(a), 248(c),
or involving a transaction or
321-338a, 37ld, 461, 481-486,601,611,
member bank shall maintain a copy of

to the Board by the Office of
Management and Budget. The Board has
determined that the proposed
regulations may reduce the burden on
reporting institutions through the use of
a simplified, shorter form, the filing of
one form only, the raising of reporting
thresholds, and the elimination of the
submission of supporting
documentation with a referral, as well
as by the Board’s provision to banking
organizations of computer software to
prepare the form. The estimated average
burden associated with the collection of
information contained in a SAR is
approximately .6 hours per respondent.
The burden per respondent will vary
depending on the nature of the
suspicious activity being reported.
Comments concerning the accuracy of
this burden estimate should be directed
to Mary M. McLaughlin, Division of
Research and Statistics, Mail Stop 97,
Federal Reserve Board, 20th Street and
Constitution Avenue, N.W.,
Washington, D.C. 20551.




1814, 1823(j), 1828(o), 1831o, 1831p-l, 3105,
3310, 3331-3351, and 3906-3909; 15 U.S.C.
78b, 781(b), 781(g), 781(i), 78o-4(c)(5), 78q.
78q-l and 78w; 31 U.S.C. 5318.

Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 127 / Monday, July 3, 1995 / Proposed Rules
any SAR filed and the original of any
related documentation for a period of 10
years from the date of filing the SAR. A
state member bank must make all
supporting documentation available to
appropriate law enforcement agencies
upon request. Supporting
documentation shall be identified and
treated as filed with the SAR.
(h) Notification to board of directors.
The management of a state member
bank shall promptly notify its board of
directors, or a committee thereof, of any
report filed pursuant to this section.
(i) Compliance. Failure to file a SAR
in accordance with this section and the
form’s instructions may subject the state
member bank, its directors, officers,
employees, agents, or other institutionaffiliated parties to supervisory action.
(j) Confidentiality of SARs. SARs are
confidential. Any person subpoenaed or
otherwise requested to disclose a SAR
or the information contained in a SAR
shall decline to produce the information
citing this section, applicable law (e.g.,
31 U.S.C. 5318(g)), or both.
PART 211— INTERNATIONAL
BANKING OPERATIONS
(REGULATION K)

1. The authority citation for part 211
is revised to read as follows:
Authority: 12 U.S.C. 221 etseq., 1818,

etseq., 1843 etseq., 3100 etseq., 3901
et seq.

1841

§§211.8 and 211.24

[Amended]

2. In §§ 211.8 and 211.24(f) remove
the words “criminal referral form” and
add, in their place, the words
“suspicious activity report”.
PART 225— BANK HOLDING
COMPANIES AND CHANGE IN BANK
CONTROL (REGULATION Y)

1. The authority citation for 12 CFR
part 225 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 12 U.S.C. 1817(j)(13), 1818,
1831i, 1831p-l, 1843(c)(8), 1844(b), 1972(1),
3106, 3108, 3310, 3331-3351,3907,and
3909.
§ 225.4

[Amended]

2. In § 225.4 the heading of paragraph
(f) is revised to read “Suspicious
A ctivity R eport”.
3. In § 225.4(f) remove the words
“criminal referral form” and add, in
their place, the words “suspicious
activity report”.
By order o f the Board of Governors of the
Federal Reserve System, June 28,1995.

William W. Wiles,
Secretary of the Board.
[FR Doc. 95-16250 Filed 6-30-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6210-01-P




34485