[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 89 (Tuesday, May 11, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 25865-25870]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-09873]


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FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM

[Docket No. OP-1747]


Proposed Guidelines for Evaluating Account and Services Requests

AGENCY: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.

ACTION: Notice; request for comment.

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SUMMARY: The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board) 
is requesting comment on proposed guidelines (Account Access 
Guidelines) to evaluate requests for accounts and services at Federal 
Reserve Banks (Reserve Banks).

DATES: Comments on the proposed changes must be received on or before 
July 12, 2021.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by Docket No. OP-1747, 
by any of the following methods:
     Agency Website: http://www.federalreserve.gov. Follow the 
instructions for submitting comments at http://www.federalreserve.gov/generalinfo/foia/ProposedRegs.cfm.
     Email: [email protected]. Include docket 
number in the subject line of the message.
     Fax: (202) 452-3819 or (202) 452-3102.
     Mail: Ann E. Misback, Secretary, Board of Governors of the 
Federal Reserve System, 20th Street and Constitution Avenue NW, 
Washington, DC 20551.
    All public comments are available from the Board's website at 
www.federalreserve.gov/generalinfo/foia/ProposedRegs.cfm as submitted, 
unless modified for technical reasons or to remove personally 
identifiable information at the commenter's request. Accordingly, 
comments will not be edited to remove any identifying or contact 
information. Public comments may also be viewed electronically or in 
paper in Room 146, 1709 New York Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20006, 
between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. on weekdays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jason Hinkle, Assistant Director (202-
912-7805), Division of Reserve Bank Operations and Payment Systems, or 
Sophia Allison, Senior Special Counsel (202-452-3565) or Gavin Smith, 
Senior Counsel (202-872-7578), Legal Division, Board of Governors of 
the Federal Reserve System. For users of Telecommunications Device for 
the Deaf (TDD) only, please contact 202-263-4869.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

[[Page 25866]]

I. Background

    The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board) is 
considering adopting guidelines (Account Access Guidelines) to be used 
by Federal Reserve Banks (Reserve Banks) in evaluating requests for 
master accounts and/or access to Federal Reserve Bank financial 
services (accounts and services). The Board's approach to this proposal 
reflects its analysis of the Board's policy goals of (1) ensuring the 
safety and soundness of the banking system, (2) effectively 
implementing monetary policy, (3) promoting financial stability, (4) 
protecting consumers, and (5) promoting a safe, efficient, inclusive, 
and innovative payment system. The Board's proposed guidelines are also 
intended to ensure that Reserve Banks evaluate a transparent and 
consistent set of factors when reviewing requests for accounts and 
services (access requests).
    The payments landscape is evolving rapidly as technological 
progress and other factors are leading to both the introduction of new 
financial products and services and to different ways of providing 
traditional banking services (i.e., payments, deposit-taking, and 
lending). Relatedly, there has been a recent uptick in novel charter 
types being authorized or considered across the country and, as a 
result, the Reserve Banks are receiving an increasing number of 
inquiries and requests for access to accounts and services from novel 
institutions.
    Although the Reserve Banks have received such inquiries on an 
exceptional basis in the past, the Board now believes, given the 
increase in the number and novelty of such inquiries, that a more 
transparent and consistent approach to such requests should be adopted 
by the Reserve Banks. Given that access decisions made by individual 
Reserve Banks can have implications for a wide array of Federal Reserve 
System (Federal Reserve) policies and objectives, a structured, 
transparent, and detailed framework for evaluating access requests 
would benefit the financial system broadly. Such a framework would also 
help foster consistent evaluation of access requests, from both risk 
and policy perspectives, across all twelve Reserve Banks.
    To help achieve the goal of applying a transparent and consistent 
process for all access requests, the Board is proposing guidelines for 
the Reserve Banks to evaluate such requests. The proposed account 
access guidelines contain six principles that would support consistency 
in approach and decision-making across Reserve Banks while maintaining 
Reserve Bank discretionary authority to grant or deny requests. 
Accordingly, the proposed guidelines would reduce the potential for 
forum shopping across Reserve Banks and mitigate the risk that 
individual decisions by Reserve Banks could create de facto System 
policy for a particular business model or risk profile. These risk-
focused guidelines would also promote more consistent implementation 
for eligible institutions with similar risk profiles.
    The proposed account access guidelines are centered on a foundation 
of risk management and mitigation. In developing the proposed 
guidelines, the Board considered the risks that may arise when an 
institution gains access to accounts and services. These risks include, 
among others, risks to the Reserve Banks, to the payment system, to the 
financial system, and to the effective implementation of monetary 
policy.
    The introduction to the proposed guidelines discusses the Federal 
Reserve's broad policy goals when providing accounts and services as 
well as the reasons for proposing to issue the account access 
guidelines. In addition, the introduction provides that while the 
guidelines are designed primarily for new access requests, Reserve 
Banks should also apply the guidelines to existing account and services 
relationships when a Reserve Bank becomes aware of a significant change 
in the risks that the account holder presents due to changes in the 
nature of its principal business activities, condition, etc.
    The proposed account access guidelines identify potential risks and 
prompt the Reserve Bank to identify risk mitigation strategies adopted 
by the institution (including capital, risk frameworks, compliance with 
regulations, and supervision) and by the Reserve Bank (including 
account agreement provisions, restrictions on financial services 
accessed, account risk controls, and denial of access requests). The 
first principle specifies that only institutions that are legally 
eligible for accounts and services are in scope, and the remaining five 
principles are designed to address specific risks ranging from narrow 
risks (such as risk to an individual Reserve Bank) to broader risks 
(such as risk to the U.S. financial system).\1\ The Board is 
considering whether it may in the future be useful to clarify the 
interpretation of legal eligibility under the Federal Reserve Act for a 
Federal Reserve account and services.
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    \1\ The proposed guidelines are designed as a risk management 
framework and, as such, the principles focus on risks an 
institution's access could pose. The Board notes, however, that an 
institution's access could have net benefits to the financial system 
that are not a focus of the risk management framework.
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    For each of these principles, the proposed guidelines identify 
factors that Reserve Banks should consider when evaluating an 
institution against the specific risk targeted by the pringciple 
(several factors are pertinent to more than one principle). The 
identified factors are commonly used in the regulation and supervision 
of federally-insured institutions. When applying the account access 
guidelines the Reserve Bank should incorporate, to the extent possible, 
the assessments of an institution by state and/or federal supervisors 
into its independent assessment of the institution's risk profile. 
Given that the proposed guidelines utilize factors broadly applied to 
federally-insured institutions, the Board anticipates the application 
of the guidelines to access requests by federally-insured institutions 
would be fairly straightforward in most cases. Reserve Bank assessments 
of access requests from non-federally-insured institutions, however, 
may require more extensive due diligence.
    Currently, Reserve Bank risk management practices include 
monitoring the condition of institutions with accounts and services on 
an ongoing basis using supervisory ratings, capitalization data, and 
other supplementary information. Reserve Banks use this process to 
determine whether risk controls or other restrictions should be placed 
on an institution's account. For example, the process is used to 
determine if an institution continues to remain eligible for primary 
credit. The Board anticipates that, if the proposed guidelines are 
adopted, Reserve Banks would use the guidelines to re-evaluate the 
risks posed by an institution in cases where these condition-monitoring 
activities indicate potential changes in the institution's risk 
profile.

II. Proposed Guidelines

Guidelines Covering Access to Accounts and Services at Federal Reserve 
Banks (Account Access Guidelines)

    The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board) has 
adopted account access guidelines comprised of six principles to be 
used by Federal Reserve Banks (Reserve Banks) in evaluating requests 
for master accounts and access to Federal Reserve Bank financial 
services (access requests).2 3

[[Page 25867]]

The account access guidelines apply to requests from all institutions 
that are legally eligible to receive an account or services, as 
discussed in more detail in the first principle.\4\
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    \2\ As discussed in the Federal Reserve's Operating Circular No. 
1, an institution has the option to settle its Federal Reserve 
financial services transactions in its master account with a Reserve 
Bank or in the master account of another institution that has agreed 
to act as its Correspondent. These principles apply to requests for 
either arrangement.
    \3\ Reserve Bank financial services mean all services subject to 
Federal Reserve Act, section 11A (``priced services'') and Reserve 
Bank cash services. Financial services do not include transactions 
conducted as part of the Federal Reserve's open market operations or 
administration of the Reserve Banks' Discount Window.
    \4\ These principles would not apply to accounts provided under 
fiscal agency authority or to accounts authorized pursuant to the 
Board's Regulation N (12 CFR 214), joint account requests, or 
account requests from designated financial market utilities, since 
existing rules or policies already set out the considerations 
involved in granting these types of accounts.
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    The Federal Reserve System's (Federal Reserve) approach to 
providing institutions with accounts and services depends on, among 
other things, whether the institution is legally eligible to obtain an 
account and on the Federal Reserve's policy goals of ensuring the 
safety and soundness of the banking system, effectively implementing 
monetary policy, promoting financial stability, protecting consumers, 
and promoting a safe, effective, efficient, accessible and innovative 
payment system. The Board believes it is important to make clear that 
legal eligibility does not bestow a right to obtain an account and 
services. While decisions regarding individual access requests remain 
at the discretion of the individual Reserve Banks, the Board believes 
it is important that the Reserve Banks apply a consistent set of 
guidelines when reviewing such access requests to promote consistent 
outcomes across Reserve Banks and to facilitate equitable treatment 
across institutions.
    These account access guidelines also serve to inform requestors of 
the factors that a Reserve Bank will review in any access request and 
thereby allow requestors to make any enhancements to its risk 
management, documentation, or other practices, as the case may be, to 
attempt to demonstrate how it meets each of these factors for review.
    These guidelines broadly outline considerations for evaluating 
access requests but are not intended to provide assurance that any 
specific institution will be granted an account and services. The 
individual Reserve Bank will evaluate each access request on a case-by-
case basis. When applying these account access guidelines, the Reserve 
Bank should incorporate to the extent possible the assessments of an 
institution by state and/or federal supervisors into its independent 
analysis of the institution's risk profile. The evaluation of an 
institution's access request should also consider whether the request 
has the potential to set a precedent that could affect the Federal 
Reserve's ability to achieve its policy goals now or in the future.
    If the Reserve Bank decides to grant an access request, it may 
impose (at the time of account opening, granting access to service, or 
any time thereafter) obligations relating to, or conditions or 
limitations on, use of the account or services as necessary to limit 
operational, credit, legal, or other risks posed to the Reserve Banks, 
the payment system, financial stability or the implementation of 
monetary policy or to address other considerations.\5\ The account-
holding Reserve Bank may, at its discretion, decide to place additional 
risk management controls on the account and services, such as real-time 
monitoring of account balances, as it may deem necessary to mitigate 
risks. If the obligations, limitations, or controls are ineffective in 
mitigating the risks identified or if the obligations, limitations, or 
controls are breached, the account-holding Reserve Bank may further 
restrict the institution's use of accounts and services or may close 
the account. Establishment of an account and provision of services by a 
Reserve Bank under these guidelines is not an endorsement or approval 
by the Federal Reserve of the institution. Nothing in the Board's 
guidelines relieves any institution from compliance with obligations 
imposed by the institution's supervisors and regulators.
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    \5\ The conditions imposed could include, but are not limited 
to, paying a different rate of interest on balances held in the 
account, limiting the amount of balances on which interest is paid, 
or establishing a cap on the amount of balances held in the account.
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    Accordingly, Reserve Banks should evaluate how each institution 
requesting an account and services will meet the following 
principles.\6\ Each principle identifies factors that Reserve Banks 
should consider when evaluating an institution against the specific 
risk targeted by the principle (several factors are pertinent to more 
than one principle). The identified factors are commonly used in the 
regulation and supervision of federally-insured institutions. As a 
result, the Board anticipates the application of the account access 
guidelines to access requests by federally-insured institutions will be 
fairly straightforward in most cases. However, Reserve Bank assessments 
of access requests from non-federally insured institutions may require 
more extensive due diligence.
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    \6\ The principles are designed to address risks posed by an 
institution having access to an account and services, ranging from 
narrow risks (e.g., to an individual Reserve Bank) to broader risks 
(e.g., to the overall economy). Review activities performed by the 
Reserve Bank may address several principles at once.
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    Reserve Banks monitor and analyze the condition of institutions 
with accounts and services on an ongoing basis. Reserve Banks should 
use the guidelines to re-evaluate the risks posed by an institution in 
cases where its condition monitoring and analysis indicate potential 
changes in the risk profile of an institution, including a significant 
change to the institution's business model.
    1. Each institution requesting an account or services must be 
eligible under the Federal Reserve Act or other federal statute to 
maintain an account at a Federal Reserve Bank (Reserve Bank) and 
receive Federal Reserve services and should have a well-founded, clear, 
transparent, and enforceable legal basis for its operations.\7\
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    \7\ These principles do not apply to accounts provided by a 
Reserve Bank as depository and fiscal agent for the Treasury and for 
certain government-sponsored entities (12 U.S.C. 391, 393-95, 1823, 
1435) as well as to accounts provided to certain international 
organizations (22 U.S.C. 285d, 286d, 290o-3, 290i-5, 290l-3), to 
designated financial market utilities (12 U.S.C. 5465), pursuant to 
the Board's Regulation N (12 CFR 214), or to the Board's Guidelines 
for Evaluating Joint Account Requests.
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    a. Unless otherwise specified by federal statute, only those 
entities that are member banks or meet the definition of a depository 
institution under section 19(b) of the Federal Reserve Act are legally 
eligible to obtain Federal Reserve accounts and financial services.\8\
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    \8\ These principles apply to account requests from member banks 
or other entities that meet the definition of a depository 
institution under section 19(b), as well as Edge and Agreement 
corporations (12 U.S.C. 601-604a, 611-631), and branches and 
agencies of foreign banks (12 U.S.C. 347d).
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    b. The Reserve Bank should assess the consistency of the 
institution's activities and services with applicable laws and 
regulations, such as Article 4A of the Uniform Commercial Code and the 
Electronic Fund Transfer Act. The Reserve Bank should also consider 
whether the design of the institution's services would impede 
compliance by the institution's customers with U.S. sanction programs, 
Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) and anti-money-laundering (AML) requirements or 
regulations, or consumer protection laws and regulations.
    2. Provision of an account and services to an institution should 
not present or create undue credit, operational, settlement, cyber or 
other risks to the Reserve Bank.

[[Page 25868]]

    a. The Reserve Bank should incorporate, to the extent possible, the 
assessments of an institution by state and/or federal supervisors into 
its independent assessment of the institution's risk profile.
    b. The Reserve Bank should confirm that the institution has an 
effective risk management framework and governance arrangements to 
ensure that the institution operates in a safe and sound manner, during 
both normal conditions and periods of idiosyncratic and market stress.
    i. For these purposes, effective risk management includes having a 
robust framework, including policies, procedures, systems, and 
qualified staff, to manage applicable risks. The framework should at a 
minimum identify, measure, and control the particular risks posed by 
the institution's business lines, products and services. The 
effectiveness of the framework should be further supported by internal 
testing and internal audit reviews.
    ii. The framework should be subject to oversight by a board of 
directors (or similar body) as well as oversight by state and/or 
federal banking supervisor(s).
    iii. The framework should clearly identify all risks that may arise 
related to the institution's business (e.g., legal, credit, liquidity, 
operational, custody, investment) as well as objectives regarding the 
risk tolerances for the management of such risks.
    c. The Reserve Bank should confirm that the institution is in 
substantial compliance with its supervisory agency's regulatory and 
supervisory requirements.
    d. The institution must, in the Reserve Bank's judgment:
    i. Demonstrate an ability to comply, were it to obtain a master 
account, with Board orders and policies, Reserve Bank agreements and 
operating circulars, and other applicable Federal Reserve requirements.
    ii. Be in sound financial condition, including maintaining adequate 
capital to continue as a going concern and to meet its current and 
projected operating expenses under a range of scenarios.
    iii. Demonstrate the ability, on an ongoing basis (including during 
periods of idiosyncratic or market stress), to meet all of its 
obligations in order to remain a going concern and comply with its 
agreement for a Reserve Bank account and services, including by 
maintaining:
    A. Sufficient liquid resources to meet its obligations to the 
Reserve Bank under applicable agreements, operating circulars, and 
Board policies;
    B. The operational capacity to ensure that such liquid resources 
are available to satisfy all such obligations to the Reserve Bank on a 
timely basis; and
    C. Settlement processes designed to appropriately monitor balances 
in its Reserve Bank account on an intraday basis, to process 
transactions through its account in an orderly manner and maintain/
achieve a positive account balance before the end of the business day.
    iv. Have in place an operational risk framework designed to ensure 
operational resiliency against events associated with processes, 
people, and systems that may impair the institution's use and 
settlement of Reserve Bank services. This framework should consider 
internal and external factors, including operational risks inherent in 
the institution's business model, risks that might arise in connection 
with its use of any Reserve Bank account and services, and cyber-
related risks. At a minimum, the operational risk framework should:
    A. Identify the range of operational risks presented by the 
institution's business model (e.g., cyber vulnerability, operational 
failure, resiliency of service providers), and establish sound 
operational risk management objectives to address such risks;
    B. Establish sound governance arrangements, rules, and procedures 
to oversee and implement the operational risk management framework;
    C. Establish clear and appropriate rules and procedures to carry 
out the risk management objectives;
    D. Employ the resources necessary to achieve its risk management 
objectives and implement effectively its rules and procedures, 
including, but not limited to, sound processes for physical and 
information security, internal controls, compliance, program 
management, incident management, business continuity, audit, and well-
qualified personnel; and
    E. Support compliance with the electronic access requirements, 
including security measures, outlined in the Reserve Banks' Operating 
Circular 5 and its supporting documentation.
    3. Provision of an account and services to an institution should 
not present or create undue credit, liquidity, operational, settlement, 
cyber or other risks to the overall payment system.
    a. The Reserve Bank should incorporate, to the extent possible, the 
assessments of an institution by state and/or federal supervisors into 
its independent assessment of the institution's risk profile.
    b. The Reserve Bank should confirm that the institution has an 
effective risk management framework and governance arrangements to 
limit the impact that idiosyncratic stress, disruptions, outages, cyber 
incidents or other incidents at the institution might have on other 
institutions and the payment system broadly. The framework should 
include:
    i. Clearly defined operational reliability objectives and policies 
and procedures in place to achieve those objectives.
    ii. A business continuity plan that addresses events that have the 
potential to disrupt operations and a resiliency objective to ensure 
the institution can resume services in a reasonable timeframe.
    iii. Policies and procedures for identifying risks that external 
parties may pose to sound operations, including interdependencies with 
affiliates, service providers, and others.
    c. The Reserve Bank should identify actual and potential 
interactions between the institution's use of a Reserve Bank account 
and services and (other parts of) the payment system.
    i. The extent to which the institution's use of a Reserve Bank 
account and services might restrict funds from being available to 
support the liquidity needs of other institutions should also be 
considered.
    d. The institution must, in the Reserve Bank's judgment:
    i. Be in sound financial condition, including maintaining adequate 
capital to continue as a going concern and to meet its current and 
projected operating expenses under a range of scenarios.
    ii. Demonstrate the ability, on an ongoing basis (including during 
periods of idiosyncratic or market stress), to meet all of its 
obligations in order to remain a going concern and comply with its 
agreement for a Reserve Bank account and services, including by 
maintaining:
    A. Sufficient liquid resources to meet its obligations to the 
Reserve Bank under applicable agreements, Operating Circulars, and 
Board policies;
    B. The operational capacity to ensure that such liquid resources 
are available to satisfy all such obligations to the Reserve Bank on a 
timely basis; and
    C. Settlement processes designed to appropriately monitor balances 
in its Reserve Bank account on an intraday basis, to process 
transactions through its account in an orderly manner and maintain/
achieve a positive account balance before the end of the business day.
    iii. Have in place an operational risk framework designed to ensure

[[Page 25869]]

operational resiliency against events associated with processes, 
people, and systems that may impair the institution's payment system 
activities. This framework should consider internal and external 
factors, including operational risk inherent in the institution's 
business model, risk that might arise in connection with its use of the 
payment system, and cyber-related risks. At a minimum, the framework 
should:
    A. Identify the range of operational risks presented by the 
institution's business model (e.g., cyber vulnerability, operational 
failure, resiliency of service providers), and establish sound 
operational risk-management objectives;
    B. Establish sound governance arrangements, rules, and procedures 
to oversee the operational risk management framework;
    C. Establish clear and appropriate rules and procedures to carry 
out the risk management objectives;
    D. Employ the resources necessary to achieve its risk management 
objectives and implement effectively its rules and procedures, 
including, but not limited to, sound processes for physical and 
information security, internal controls, compliance, program 
management, incident management, business continuity, audit, and well-
qualified personnel.
    4. Provision of an account and services to an institution should 
not create undue risk to the stability of the U.S. financial system.
    a. The Reserve Bank should incorporate, to the extent possible, the 
assessments of an institution by state and/or federal supervisors into 
its independent assessment of the institution's risk profile.
    b. The Reserve Bank should determine, in coordination with the 
other Reserve Banks and Board, whether the access to an account and 
services by an institution itself or a group of like institutions could 
introduce financial stability risk to the U.S. financial system.
    c. The Reserve Bank should confirm that the institution has an 
effective risk management framework and governance arrangements for 
managing liquidity, credit, and other risks that may arise in times of 
financial or economic stress.
    d. The Reserve Bank should consider the extent to which, especially 
in times of financial or economic stress, liquidity or other strains at 
the institution may be transmitted to other segments of the financial 
system.
    e. The Reserve Bank should consider the extent to which, especially 
during times of financial or economic stress, access to an account and 
services by an institution itself (or a group of like institutions) 
could affect deposit balances across U.S. financial institutions more 
broadly and whether any resulting movements in deposit balances could 
have a deleterious effect on U.S. financial stability.
    i. Balances held in Reserve Bank accounts are high-quality liquid 
assets, making them very attractive in times of financial or economic 
stress. For example, in times of stress, investors that would otherwise 
provide short-term funding to nonfinancial firms, financial firms, and 
state and local governments could rapidly withdraw that funding and 
instead deposit their funds with an institution holding mostly central 
bank balances. If the institution is not subject to capital 
requirements similar to a federally-insured institution, the potential 
for sudden and significant deposit inflows into that institution is 
particularly large, which could disintermediate other parts of the 
financial system, greatly amplifying stress.
    5. Provision of an account and services to an institution should 
not create undue risk to the overall economy by facilitating activities 
such as money laundering, terrorism financing, fraud, cybercrimes, or 
other illicit activity.
    a. The Reserve Bank should incorporate, to the extent possible, the 
assessments of an institution by state and/or federal supervisors into 
its independent assessment of the institution's risk profile.
    b. The Reserve Bank should confirm that the institution has an 
anti-money-laundering program consistent with the requirements in 31 
CFR 1020.210(b) and complies with the Office of Foreign Asset Control 
(OFAC) regulations at 31 CFR Chapter V.
    i. For these purposes, the Reserve Bank should confirm that these 
compliance programs contain the following elements:
    A. A system of internal controls, including policies and 
procedures, to ensure ongoing BSA/AML and OFAC compliance, including 
regular written risk assessments to identify, analyze and address the 
risks the institution faces, policies, procedures, and an effective 
transaction-monitoring system;
    B. Independent audit and testing of BSA/AML and OFAC compliance;
    C. Senior management commitment to BSA/AML and OFAC compliance, 
including, at a minimum: (a) The designation of a specific person or 
persons responsible for managing BSA/AML and OFAC compliance, including 
the employment of an experienced BSA/AML and OFAC compliance officer; 
(b) senior management review and approval of the institution's BSA/AML 
and OFAC compliance programs; (c) the institution's compliance staff 
has sufficient authority and autonomy to deploy policies and procedures 
in a manner that effectively controls the institution's BSA/AML and 
OFAC risk; and (d) senior management taking, and demonstrating that it 
will continue to take, steps to ensure that the institution's 
compliance unit receives adequate resources;
    D. Ongoing training for appropriate personnel with a scope that is 
appropriate for the products and services the institution offers; and
    E. Processes that allow for a risk-based classification of its 
customer base, including risk-based procedures for conducting ongoing 
customer due diligence.
    6. Provision of an account and services to an institution should 
not adversely affect the Federal Reserve's ability to implement 
monetary policy.
    a. The Reserve Bank should incorporate, to the extent possible, the 
assessments of an institution by state and/or federal supervisors into 
its independent assessment of the institution's risk profile.
    b. The Reserve Bank should determine, in coordination with the 
other Reserve Banks and the Board, whether access to an account and 
services by an institution itself or a group of like institutions could 
have an effect on the implementation of monetary policy.
    c. The Reserve Bank should consider, among other things, whether 
access to a Reserve Bank account and services by the institution could 
affect the level and variability of the demand for and supply of 
reserves, the level and volatility of key policy interest rates, the 
structure of key short-term funding markets, and on the overall size of 
the consolidated balance sheet of the Reserve Banks. The Reserve Bank 
should consider the implications of providing an account to the 
institution in normal times as well as in times of stress. This 
consideration should occur regardless of the current monetary policy 
implementation framework in place.

III. Request for Comment

    The Board requests comment on all aspects of the proposed account 
access guidelines, including: (1) Whether the scope and application of 
the proposed guidance are sufficiently clear and appropriate to achieve 
their intended purpose; and (2) suggesting/identifying other criteria 
or information that commenters believe may be relevant to

[[Page 25870]]

evaluate accounts and services requests under the proposed guidance. 
The Board further seeks comment specifically on the following aspects 
of the proposed guidance:
    1. Do the proposed account access guidelines address all the risks 
that would be relevant to the Federal Reserve's policy goals?
    2. Does the level of specificity in each principle provide 
sufficient clarity and transparency about how the Reserve Banks will 
evaluate requests?
    3. Do the proposed account access guidelines support responsible 
financial innovation?
    Finally, the Board also seeks comment on whether the Board or the 
Reserve Banks should consider other steps or actions to facilitate the 
review of requests for accounts and services in a consistent and 
equitable manner.

    By order of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve 
System.
Ann Misback,
Secretary of the Board.
[FR Doc. 2021-09873 Filed 5-10-21; 8:45 am]
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