Comment Request; Bank Secrecy Act Suspicious Activity Report Database Proposed Data Fields

1The SAR requirements are currently covered under the following OMB control numbers: 1506– 0001 (SAR–DI), 1506–0006 (SAR–C), 1506–0015 (SAR–MSB), 1506–0019 (SAR–SF which includes broker-dealers, FCMs, IB–Cs, and Mutual Funds), and 1506–0029 (SAR–IC). 2Language expanding the scope of the BSA 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 Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001 (the USA PATRIOT Act), Public Law 107–56. 3Treasury 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 SAR System was most recently published at 73 FR 42405, 42407–9 (July 21, 2008). 4BSA 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. 5A 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. Approved: October 8, 2010. Allan Hopkins, Tax Analyst. [FR Doc. 2010–25948 Filed 10–14–10; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4830–01–P DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY Financial Crimes Enforcement Network Proposed Collection; Comment Request; Bank Secrecy Act Suspicious Activity Report Database Proposed Data Fields AGENCY: Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), Treasury. ACTION: Notice and request for comments. SUMMARY: FinCEN has begun 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 Suspicious Activity Report (SAR) filings by financial institutions required to file such reports under the BSA. This notice does not propose any new regulatory requirements nor changes to the requirements related to suspicious activity 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 ‘‘BSA Suspicious Activity Report (BSA–SAR)’’ appears at the end of this notice. The proposed data fields reflect the filing requirement for all filers of SARs under the BSA. The SAR will be an e-filed dynamic and interactive report used by all BSA filing institutions to report suspicious activity to the Department of the Treasury. This request for comments covers 31 CFR 103.15, 31 CFR 103.16, 31 CFR 103.17, 31 CFR 103.18, 31 CFR 103.19, 31 CFR 103.20, and 31 CFR
103.21. 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 December 14, 2010. 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–SAR Database. BSA– SAR Comments also may be submitted by electronic mail to the following Internet address:
regcomments@fincen.treas.gov, with the caption, ‘‘Attention: BSA–SAR Database,’’ in the body of the text. 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 Suspicious Activity Report by Financial Institutions, (See 31 CFR 103.15, 31 CFR 103.16, 31 CFR 103.17, 31 CFR 103.18, 31 CFR 103.19, 31 CFR 103.20, and 31 CFR 103.21). OMB Number: 1506–XXXX.1 Form Number: FinCEN Form 111. 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.2 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. 5318(g), to require financial institutions to report suspicious transactions. The information collected on the ‘‘report’’ is required to be provided pursuant to 31 U.S.C. 5318(g), as implemented by FinCEN regulations found at 31 CFR 103.15–21. 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 SARs.3 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-to￾computer 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-to￾computer) will be accessed through the BSA E-Filing system 4 using current registration and log-in procedures. During log-in of the discrete filing option, filers will be prompted through a series of questions 5 (see BSA–SAR Comprehensive Summary of Proposed Data Fields, item 1 and Part III, at the end of this notice) to provide information that will identify the type of financial institution filing the SAR (depository institution, broker/dealer, casino, etc.). After log-in, the financial institution filing SARs through the discrete function will answer another set of questions consisting of a subset of the data field appropriate to the filer’s specific type of filing institution. Batch and computer-to-computer 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