The American Bankers Association today joined eight industry trade groups in a letter of support for two anti-money laundering bills being considered by the House Financial Services Committee this week.
The first bipartisan bill—H.R. 2513, introduced by Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.)–would seek to combat the use of shell corporations and facilitate compliance by creating a secure beneficial ownership registry of legal entities that would be overseen by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.
The groups also offered support for H.R. 2514, introduced by Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D- Mo.), which would modernize the Bank Secrecy Act/anti-money laundering framework. The associations noted that the bill “is a strong step in the right direction,” but raised concerns about one specific provision that would require the Department of Justice to submit an annual report to Congress on deferred and non-prosecution agreements.
ABA also expressed its individual support for the bills–along with an amendment to H.R. 2514 that would update the asset thresholds for suspicious activity reports and currency transaction reports–in a separate memo sent to lawmakers today.
