Fed Proposes Easing Anti-Money-Laundering Program Rules for Banks

The Federal Reserve Board has opened a public comment period on a proposal to amend its requirements for the anti-money-laundering programs that supervised banks must maintain. The move, announced as part of the regulator's July agenda, reflects a broader effort by US banking agencies to modernize and streamline compliance obligations under the Bank Secrecy Act while preserving safeguards against illicit finance. Around the same time, the Fed released supervisory guidance clarifying how banks may share fraud-related information under Section 314(b) of the USA PATRIOT Act, a provision that allows institutions to exchange information to identify and report potential money laundering or terrorist financing. Regulators have signalled they want anti-money-laundering rules to be more risk-based and less burdensome, directing bank resources toward the highest-priority threats rather than routine paperwork. Industry groups have long argued that existing requirements are costly and generate large volumes of low-value reports. Consumer and transparency advocates, by contrast, caution that any loosening must not weaken the financial system's defences against criminal misuse. The comment period gives banks, trade bodies and the public an opportunity to weigh in before the Fed finalizes any changes.