Bank Secrecy Act: Federal Agencies Should Take Action to Further Improve Coordination and Information-Sharing Efforts Page: 39 of 110

                                
Regulators that we contacted typically stated that the guidance has been
beneficial. FDIC officials maintained that with the guidance, bank officials
have a better idea of the factors FDIC and other banking regulators take
into account before executing a cease-and-desist order. They added that
the interagency statement advises that the appropriate regulator may take
a different level of action depending on the severity and scope of the
bank's noncompliance. NCUA officials said they found that the guidance
has led to more consistent enforcement actions taken among the banking
regulators in response to cited deficiencies and violations.40 Both Federal
Reserve and OCC officials suggested that the guidance provided more
clarity about, or added transparency to, the circumstances under which
the agencies will take formal or informal enforcement actions to address
concerns relating to a bank's AML program requirements.
Federal banking and state regulators generally coordinate when necessary
on BSA enforcement actions.41 For example, Federal Reserve officials said
they usually take (and terminate) actions jointly with state regulators, and
a bank must continue to comply with a joint enforcement action until both
the Federal Reserve and the state authorities terminate the action.
Accordingly, the Federal Reserve and state regulators typically terminate
enforcement actions simultaneously. Officials from several state agencies
said that as a general rule, they took informal and formal enforcement
actions jointly with their federal counterparts, although some state
agencies were likely to coordinate only formal actions. Several state
officials reported taking few, if any, formal BSA/AML-related actions
against depository institutions, especially credit unions.
Several officials from institutions that were examined by multiple federal
banking regulators, such as OCC and the Federal Reserve, said that these
regulators coordinated well among themselves, while others indicated
they were unsure or thought coordination could be improved. Bank
officials had mixed views on coordination of enforcement actions between
40The banking regulators use different terms to classify problems associated with elements
of institutions' BSA/AML programs. For example, some of the banking regulators use
"deficiency" and others "violation." Also, the 2007 FFIEC interagency statement does not
clearly distinguish between a deficiency and a violation, although it provides examples of
when either deficiencies or violations can lead to the issuance of a cease-and-desist order.
410CC does not share jurisdiction with state regulators, but OCC officials said they do share
pertinent information with some state agencies. State agencies have the authority to taken
enforcement actions against institutions chartered within their state that are in violation of
banking legislation.

GAO-09-227 Bank Secrecy Act

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