A top U.S. Treasury Department official highlighted the importance of bankers in protecting the integrity of the nation’s financial system during a speech today at the ABA/ABA Financial Crimes Enforcement Conference in Arlington, Virginia. Bradley Smith, acting undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence at the Treasury Department, said regulators are working to make sure their guidance and communications to financial institutions are more effective. But he also acknowledged that as regulators add new requirements or rewrite existing ones, the cost of compliance increases for banks.
“Those costs are designed to protect and enhance the national security and law enforcement interests of the United States — those are big important priorities,” Smith said. “But we know that the private sector has to carry that burden. And we also know … that resources are not unlimited, and that the banking sector, at whatever levels, has to prioritize and shift resources to meet new demands that we put in place.”
Smith pointed to the frontline role of financial institutions in fighting illegal finance and enforcing sanctions. “You are going to see things on the ground that will inform us about how things should be done better, but also about new risks,” he said. “It’s therefore only appropriate that we engage in this process. We continue to try to evolve and take on board some of your suggestions. We’re never going to be perfect. We’re never going to be able to strike up the balance that we all want 100% of the time, but we certainly can commit ourselves and are committed to trying to find that balance.”
