FinCEN issues ANPR for beneficial ownership reporting as director departs

Nikhil Gore spoke with Global Banking Regulation Review about the U.S. Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network’s advance notice of proposed rulemaking to solicit public comment on questions pertinent to the implementation of the Corporate Transparency Act. Mr. Gore says, “For banks, this is a chance to weigh in on the type of information they should be able to obtain from the registry as part of their due diligence processes, and how they should obtain that information.”

He adds, “While the ANPR doesn’t yet address expected changes to the rules on customer due diligence by banks, if there are gaps in the information collected and maintained as part of FinCEN’s registry, regulators may ultimately expect financial institutions to fill those gaps as part of their own diligence processes. So it will be important for banks to engage with this ANPR.”

Mr. Gore says other questions raised by the ANPR will also be of interest to banks, including  how companies will demonstrate their eligibility for reporting exemptions, and the safeguards necessary to avoid further disclosures of beneficial ownership information. “Both issues are important to banks, and may affect the design of their future due diligence systems, the types of controls they will need to protect the information they receive from FinCEN, and the extent to which they will be able to share this information with foreign affiliates.”