Consultation · FINCEN · 26 Jan 2011
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network invites comments on proposed data fields for a new electronic Database supporting the filing of Designation of Exempt Person reports by financial institutions under the Bank Secrecy Act. This notice does not propose new regulatory requirements or changes to existing reporting obligations, but seeks input on technical matters for transitioning from paper forms to a modernized IT environment for electronic reporting. Written comments must be received on or before March 28, 2011.
1Language expanding the scope of the Bank Secrecy Act to intelligence or counter-intelligence activities to protect against international terrorism was added by Section 358 of the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Continued DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY Financial Crimes Enforcement Network Proposed Collection; Comment Request; Bank Secrecy Act Designation of Exempt Person Report Proposed Data Fields AGENCY: Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (‘‘FinCEN’’), Treasury. ACTION: Notice and request for comments. SUMMARY: FinCEN is continuing the design of a new Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) database (the Database) and invites comment on the list of proposed data fields within the Database that will support the filing of a Designation of Exempt Person (DOEP) Report by financial institutions required to file such reports under the BSA. This notice does not propose any new regulatory requirements or changes to the requirements related to designation of exempt person reporting, but rather seeks input on technical matters as we transition from a system originally designed for collecting paper forms to a modernized IT environment for electronic reporting. The list of proposed data fields for the ‘‘Designation of Exempt Person (DOEP)’’ appears at the end of this notice. The proposed data fields reflect the filing requirement for all filers of DOEPs under the BSA. The DOEP will be an efiled dynamic and interactive report used by all BSA filing institutions to report exemptions to the Department of the Treasury. This request for comments covers 31 CFR 103.22(d). This request for comments is being made pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104–13, 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A). DATES: Written comments are welcome and must be received on or before March 28, 2011. ADDRESSES: Written comments should be submitted to: Regulatory Policy and Programs Division, Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, Department of the Treasury, P.O. Box 39, Vienna, Virginia 22183, Attention: PRA Comments—BSA–DOEP Database. DOEP comments also may be submitted by electronic mail to the following Internet address:
regcomments@fincen.treas.gov, again with a caption, in the body of the text, ‘‘Attention: BSA–DOEP Database.’’ Inspection of comments. Comments may be inspected, between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., in the FinCEN reading room in Vienna, VA. Persons wishing to inspect the comments submitted must request an appointment with the Disclosure Officer by telephoning (703) 905–5034 (Not a toll free call). FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The FinCEN Regulatory Helpline at 800– 949–2732, select option 7. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Title: BSA Designation of Exempt Persons Report by Depository Financial Institutions, (See 31 CFR 103.22(d). OMB Number: 1506–0012. Form Number: FinCEN Form 110. Abstract: The statute generally referred to as the ‘‘Bank Secrecy Act,’’ Titles I and II of Public Law 91–508, as amended, codified at 12 U.S.C. 1829b, 12 U.S.C. 1951–1959, and 31 U.S.C. 5311–5332, authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury, inter alia, to require financial institutions to keep records and file reports that are determined to have a high degree of usefulness in criminal, tax, and regulatory matters, or in the conduct of intelligence or counter-intelligence activities to protect against international terrorism, and to implement counter-money laundering programs and compliance procedures.1
Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001 (the ‘‘USA PATRIOT Act’’), Public Law 107–56. 2Treasury Department bureaus such as FinCEN renew their System of Records Notices every three years unless there is cause to amend them more frequently. FinCEN’s System of Records Notice for the BSA Report System was most recently published at 73 FR 42405, 42410 (July 21, 2008). 3BSA E-Filing is a free service provided by FinCEN. More information on the filing methods may be accessed at http:// bsaefiling.fincen.treas.gov/main.html. 4A series of predetermined questions will be used to establish the type of institution and filing in much the same manner as used in widely accepted income tax filing software. 5Adobe Acrobat Reader is free and can be download from the Adobe Web site http:// www.adobe.com/reader. 6See item 1 of the BSA–DOEP Comprehensive Summary of Proposed Data Fields at the end of this notice. 7See Part III of the BSA–DOEP Comprehensive Summary of Proposed Data Fields at the end of this notice. 8The complete list of proposed data fields appears at the end of this notice. 9Numbers are based on actual 2009 filings as reported to the IRS Enterprise Computing CenterDetroit (EEC–D) as of 12/31 2009. Regulations implementing Title II of the Bank Secrecy Act appear at 31 CFR Part
103. The authority of the Secretary to
administer the Bank Secrecy Act has been delegated to the Director of FinCEN. The Secretary of the Treasury was granted authority in 1992, with the enactment of 31 U.S.C. 5313, to permit financial institutions to exempt certain persons from the requirement to file currency transaction reports. The information collected on the ‘‘report’’ is required to be provided pursuant to 31 U.S.C. 5313, as implemented by FinCEN regulations found at 31 CFR 103.22(d). The information collected under this requirement is made available to appropriate agencies and organizations as disclosed in FinCEN’s Privacy Act System of Records Notice relating to BSA Reports.2 Current Action: FinCEN is in the process of designing the Database to accept modernized electronic BSA reporting. The Database will accept XML based dynamic, state-of-the-Art, reports. Batch and computer-tocomputer filing processes will remain unchanged although the file format will change to match the Database. Discrete filings will be based on Adobe LiveCycle Designer ES dynamic forms. All filings (discrete, batch, and computed-tocomputer) will be accessed through the BSA E-Filing system 3 using current registration and log in procedures. During log-in to the discrete filing option, filers will be prompted through a series of questions 4 (See BSA–DOEP Comprehensive Summary of Proposed Data Fields, Part I and Part III, at the end of this notice) thereby providing the discrete filer with a dynamic report tailored for the filer’s specific institution. Batch and computer-tocomputer filers will file reports based on an electronic file specification that will be finalized after reviewing public comments received in response to this notice. Dynamic forms are documents with a hierarchical structure that can be converted into XML. This structure can include structure from XML Schema and example XML files. Dynamic forms can be saved as PDF files or XDP files. XDP files are used by the Adobe LiveCycle Form Server to render files to PDF or HTML as needed. The report for the Database will be designed to be both dynamic (changing layout in response to data propagated from other sources), and interactive (capable of accepting user input). Currently, e-filed discrete forms are based on Designer 8.2.1. The dynamic features of these PDF forms can be manipulated by the Adobe Form Server during the rendering process, or by the Adobe Acrobat/Acrobat Reader 5 client during viewing. Dynamic forms allow JavaScript to be embedded thereby enabling programmatic changes to the form layout as well as communication with various data sources (SOAP, OLEDB). Besides JavaScript, Adobe dynamic forms includes a proprietary scripting language called FormCalc, designed to be a simple language for users familiar with spreadsheet calculations. The filing of the dynamic report will begin with the filer identifying the type of filing 6 followed by answering several questions about the filer’s institution, the institution’s RSSD/EIN, and
address.7 Responses to these questions will enable or ‘‘auto populate’’ certain data elements of the report with information obtained from third party data sources, completing most of the filing institution’s identifying information. The institution will then complete specific information on the exempt person. General Review of the BSA–DOEP Comprehensive Summary of Proposed Data Fields 8 Note: The following general comments apply to all filings: Discrete, batch, and computer-to-computer. Critical fields are marked with an asterisk (*) and must be completed.
1The CTR reporting requirements are currently covered under the following OMB Control numbers:
1506–0004 (Financial Institutions other than Casinos), and 1506–0005 (Casinos and Card Clubs). Dated: January 18, 2011. James H. Freis, Jr., Director, Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. DOEP—Comprehensive Summary of Proposed Data Fields—11–05–10
Part I Filing Information
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