[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 29 (Monday, February 12, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9913-9915]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-02747]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Financial Crimes Enforcement Network


Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Renewal; 
Comment Request; Renewal Without Change of Reports by Financial 
Institutions of Suspicious Transactions and FinCEN Form 111--Suspicious 
Activity Report

AGENCY: Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), Treasury.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: As part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and 
respondent burden, FinCEN invites comment on a renewal, without change, 
of existing information collection requirements relating to reports of 
suspicious transactions. Under Bank Secrecy Act regulations, financial 
institutions are required to report suspicious transactions using 
FinCEN Form 111 (the suspicious activity report, or SAR). This request 
for comments is made pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 
(PRA).

DATES: Written comments are welcome and must be received on or before 
April 12, 2024.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be submitted by any of the following methods:
     Federal E-rulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the instructions for submitting comments. Refer to Docket Number 
FINCEN-2024-0004 and the specific Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 
control numbers 1506-0001, 1506-0006, 1506-0015, 1506-0019, 1506-0029, 
1506-0061, and 1506-0065.
     Mail: Policy Division, Financial Crimes Enforcement 
Network, P.O. Box 39, Vienna, VA 22183. Refer to Docket Number FINCEN-
2024-0004 and OMB control numbers 1506-0001, 1506-0006, 1506-0015, 
1506-0019, 1506-0029, 1506-0061, and 1506-0065.
    Please submit comments by one method only. Comments will be 
reviewed consistent with the PRA \1\ and applicable OMB regulations and 
guidance. All comments submitted in response to this notice will become 
a matter of public record. Therefore, you should submit only 
information that you wish to make publicly available.
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    \1\ Public Law 104-13, 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: FinCEN's Regulatory Support Section at 
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1-800-767-2825 or electronically at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Statutory and Regulatory Provisions

    The legislative framework generally referred to as the Bank Secrecy 
Act (BSA) consists of the Currency and Foreign Transactions Reporting 
Act of 1970, as amended by the Uniting and Strengthening America by 
Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct 
Terrorism Act of 2001 (USA PATRIOT Act), Public Law 107-56 (October 26, 
2001), and other legislation, including the Anti-Money Laundering Act 
of 2020 (AML Act).\2\ The BSA is codified at 12 U.S.C. 1829b, 12 U.S.C. 
1951-1960, and 31 U.S.C. 5311-5314 and 5316-5336, and notes thereto, 
with implementing regulations at 31 CFR chapter X.
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    \2\ The AML Act was enacted as Division F, sections 6001-6511, 
of the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization 
Act for Fiscal Year 2021, Public Law 116-283, 134 Stat. 3388 (2021).
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    The BSA authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury (the 
``Secretary''), inter

[[Page 9914]]

alia, to require financial institutions to keep records and file 
reports that are determined to have a high degree of usefulness in 
criminal, tax, or regulatory matters, risk assessments or proceedings, 
or in the conduct of intelligence or counter-intelligence activities to 
protect against international terrorism, and to implement AML programs 
and compliance procedures.\3\ Regulations implementing the BSA appear 
at 31 CFR chapter X. The authority of the Secretary to administer the 
BSA has been delegated to the Director of FinCEN.\4\
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    \3\ Section 358 of the USA PATRIOT Act expanded the purpose of 
the BSA by including a reference to reports and records ``that have 
a high degree of usefulness in intelligence or counterintelligence 
activities to protect against international terrorism.'' Section 
6101 of the AML Act further expanded the purpose of the BSA to cover 
such matters as preventing money laundering, tracking illicit funds, 
assessing risk, and establishing appropriate frameworks for 
information sharing.
    \4\ Treasury Order 180-01 (Jan. 14, 2020).
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    Under 31 U.S.C. 5318(g), the Secretary is authorized to require 
financial institutions to report any suspicious transaction relevant to 
a possible violation of law or regulation. Regulations implementing 31 
U.S.C. 5318(g) are found at 31 CFR 1020.320, 1021.320, 1022.320, 
1023.320, 1024.320, 1025.320, 1026.320, 1029.320, and 1030.320.

II. Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995

    Title: Reports by Financial Institutions of Suspicious Transactions 
(31 CFR 1020.320, 1021.320, 1022.320, 1023.320, 1024.320, 1025.320, 
1026.320, and 1029.320).
    OMB Control Numbers: 1506-0001, 1506-0006, 1506-0015, 1506-0019, 
1506-0029, 1506-0061, and 1506-0065.\5\
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    \5\ The SAR regulatory reporting requirements are currently 
covered under the following OMB control numbers: 1506-0001 (31 CFR 
1020.320--Reports by banks of suspicious transactions); 1506-0006 
(31 CFR 1021.320--Reports by casinos of suspicious transactions); 
1506-0015 (31 CFR 1022.320--Reports by money services businesses of 
suspicious transactions); 1506-0019 (31 CFR 1023.320--Reports by 
brokers or dealers in securities of suspicious transactions, 31 CFR 
1024.320--Reports by mutual funds of suspicious transactions, and 31 
CFR 1026.320--Reports by futures commission merchants and 
introducing brokers in commodities of suspicious transactions); 
1506-0029 (31 CFR 1025.320--Reports by insurance companies of 
suspicious transactions); and 1506-0061 (31 CFR 1029.320--Reports by 
loan or finance companies of suspicious transactions). The PRA does 
not apply to reports by one government entity to another government 
entity. For that reason, there is no OMB control number associated 
with 31 CFR 1030.320--Reports of suspicious transactions by housing 
government sponsored enterprises. OMB control number 1506-0065 
applies to FinCEN Report 111--SAR. An administrative burden of one 
hour is assigned to each of the SAR regulation OMB control numbers 
to maintain the requirements in force.
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    Form Number: FinCEN Form 111--Suspicious Transaction Report (SAR).
    Abstract: FinCEN is issuing this notice to renew the OMB control 
numbers for the SAR regulations and form.
    Affected Public: Businesses or other for-profit institutions, and 
non-profit institutions.
    Type of Review: Renewal without change of a currently approved 
information collection.
    Frequency: As required.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 11,458 financial institutions.\6\
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    \6\ This estimate is based on the observed number of unique 
filers associated with at least one SAR filing received in calendar 
year 2022, as reported by the BSA E-Filing System as of 12/31/2022.
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    Estimated Total Annual Responses: 4,367,197 SARs.\7\
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    \7\ This estimate is based on the observed number of SAR filings 
received in calendar year 2022, as reported by the BSA E-Filing 
System as of 12/31/2022.
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    Estimated Reporting and Recordkeeping Burden per Response: The 
average estimated PRA burden, measured in hours per SAR, is 
approximately 1.98 hours.\8\ On May 26, 2020, FinCEN issued a 60-day 
notice to renew the SAR OMB controls numbers (``2020 Notice''). In the 
2020 Notice, FinCEN proposed to expand the scope of factors to consider 
as part of the PRA burden of complying with SAR requirements. In 
addition, as described in the 2020 Notice, to better estimate the 
burden associated with complying with SAR requirements, FinCEN 
conducted an in-depth analysis of the population of 2019 SAR filing 
statistics. FinCEN analyzed the 2019 SAR filings grouped by a number of 
different factors, including the following: (i) the distribution of SAR 
submissions by type of filing (original or continuing SAR); (ii) the 
filer's financial institution type; (iii) how many SARs the filer filed 
in a year; (iv) the method of filing (batch filing versus discrete 
filing); (v) the SAR narrative length; and (vi) the number of 
suspicious activities per report. The analysis and calculations 
detailed in the 2020 Notice ultimately resulted in an estimate of 
approximately 1.98 hours in filer burden per SAR.
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    \8\ See FinCEN, Agency Information Collection Activities; 
Proposed Renewal; Comment Request; Renewal Without Change of the 
Bank Secrecy Act Reports by Financial Institutions of Suspicious 
Transactions at 31 CFR 1020.320, 1021.320, 10022,320, 1023.320, 
1024.320, 1025.320, 1026.320, and 1029.320, and FinCEN Report 111--
Suspicious Activity Report, 85 FR 31598 (May 26, 2020). See 85 FR 
31600 in the 2020 Notice for the total number of SARs filed in 
calendar year 2019 (2,751,694 SARs). See 85 FR 31611 in the 2020 
Notice for the total estimated recordkeeping and reporting annual 
PRA burden of complying with the SAR requirements (5,462,026 hours). 
We are using the estimated hourly burden per SAR calculated for 
purposes of the 2020 Notice.
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    FinCEN received 22 public comments in response to the 2020 Notice. 
Commenters were generally supportive of FinCEN's efforts to more 
accurately estimate the PRA burden associated with the SAR filing 
requirements. Some commenters had specific recommendations regarding 
factors for FinCEN to consider in future in-depth analysis of the SAR 
filing population. However, none of those commenters provided specific 
sources of data to contradict the burden estimate of 1.98 hours of 
burden per SAR filed. In the absence of public comments to suggest 
otherwise, FinCEN considers it reasonable to continue to use the 
estimate of 1.98 hours per SAR filed for the population of 2022 SAR 
filing statistics as outlined in this notice. In connection with a 
variety of initiatives FinCEN is undertaking to implement the AML Act, 
FinCEN intends to conduct, in the future, additional assessments of the 
PRA burden associated with BSA requirements, including SAR 
requirements.
    Estimated Total Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping Burden: 
8,647,050 hours.\9\
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    \9\ This estimate is derived from the calculation 4,367,197 SARs 
multiplied by 1.98 hours per SAR.
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    Estimated Total Annual Reporting and Recordkeeping Cost: 
$326,772,020. This estimate applies the weighted average hourly labor 
cost of $37.79 per hour \10\ to the estimated total annual reporting 
and recordkeeping burden hours above (8,647,050 hours).
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    \10\ We are using the weighted average hourly labor cost 
calculated for purposes of the 2020 Notice, which is based on data 
for calendar year 2019. See 85 FR 31611 for the total estimated 
recordkeeping and reporting annual PRA burden of complying with the 
SAR requirements in the 2020 Notice (5,462,026 hours). See 85 FR 
31611 for the total estimated recordkeeping and reporting cost of 
complying with the SAR requirements in the 2020 Notice 
($206,422,989). The average estimated hourly cost per SAR burden 
hour in the 2020 Notice is $37.79 per hour ($206,422,989 divided by 
5,462,026 total burden hours).
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    An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required 
to respond to, a collection of information unless the collection of 
information displays a valid OMB control number. Records required to be 
retained under the BSA must be retained for five years.

Request for Comments

    Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized 
and/or included in the request for OMB approval. All comments will 
become a matter of public record. Comments are invited on: (i) whether 
the collection of information is necessary for the proper performance 
of the functions of the agency, including whether the information shall 
have practical utility; (ii) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of 
the burden of the collection of

[[Page 9915]]

information; (iii) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of 
the information to be collected; (iv) ways to minimize the burden of 
the collection of information on respondents, including through the use 
of automated collection techniques or other forms of information 
technology; and (v) estimates of capital or start-up costs and costs of 
operation, maintenance, and purchase of services to provide 
information.

Andrea M. Gacki,
Director, Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.
[FR Doc. 2024-02747 Filed 2-9-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4810-02-P