The American Bankers Association today urged the Office of Management and Budget to condition renewal of a form that facilitates beneficial ownership information collection on the Financial Crimes Enforcement Agency first increasing its estimated compliance burden on banks. ABA also wants FinCEN to further engage with the association, which has raised concerns about the estimate used.
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network is seeking to renew without change four separate information collections, including BOI requirements for legal entity customers, as required by Appendix A of the customer due diligence rule, or CDD. Federal agencies are required to regularly review the burden of their regulations on businesses under the Paperwork Reduction Act, or PRA, and seek the OMB’s approval for renewing those regulations.
ABA previously raised concerns that FinCEN massively undercounts how much time it takes for banks to comply with the BOI collection requirement. In a letter to OMB, ABA said it was disappointed that FinCEN took steps to publish a notice about its intention to leave the form unchanged before the public comment period for the PRA review had ended. Such conduct “shows little regard for either the spirit or letter of its obligations under the PRA,” the association said.
