Bills to fix the National Flood Insurance Program and combat the money-laundering risks from shell companies enjoyed bipartisan support during a House Financial Services Committee debate.
The good news for financial firms is Congress has moved closer to reforming anti-money-laundering rules. But left behind in the effort is the reform most coveted by the industry.
Banks would be better able to comply with anti-money-laundering laws if all 50 states collected information on the owners of new corporations and published it in a national database, Comptroller Joseph Otting said Monday.
Rep. Carolyn Maloney said Tuesday that her legislation aimed at restricting anonymous shell companies could get a vote in the Financial Services Committee as early as the end of June, after consideration was postponed last week.
House lawmakers postponed a committee vote on legislation to require beneficial ownership disclosures, nearly a year after a different anti-money-laundering bill stalled over a similar provision.
Lawmakers are poised to advance a bill requiring that commercial customers identify their beneficial owners — taking that burden away from their financial institution — but the anti-money-laundering reform arguably most favored by banks has fallen off the radar.
The objectives of a Financial Crimes Enforcement Network rule requiring financial institutions to collect “beneficial ownership” details are laudable, but the regulation can be subverted by unscrupulous customers.
Bank and credit union regulators issued a statement giving institutions the go-ahead to try artificial intelligence and other emerging tech to detect money laundering. It's just what some institutions have been waiting for.
