Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 59 (Friday, March 28, 2025)

[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 59 (Friday, March 28, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14183-14189]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-05349]

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DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Financial Crimes Enforcement Network

Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Renewal;
Comment Request; Renewal Without Change of Reporting Obligations on
Foreign Bank Relationships With Iranian-Linked Financial Institutions
Designated Under IEEPA and IRGC-Linked Persons Designated Under IEEPA

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 comments on the proposed renewal,
without change, of certain existing information collection requirements
found in Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) regulations. Specifically, the
regulations require that upon receiving a written request from FinCEN,
a bank located within the United States that maintains a correspondent
account for a specified foreign bank must ask the foreign bank, and
report to FinCEN, about transactions or other financial services
provided by that foreign bank to Iranian-linked financial institutions
designated under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act
(IEEPA) and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)-linked persons
designated under IEEPA. This request for comments is made pursuant to
the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

DATES: Written comments are welcome and must be received on or before
May 27, 2025.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be submitted by any of the following methods:
Federal E-rulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov.
Follow the instructions for submitting comments. Refer to Docket Number
FINCEN-2025-0002 and the specific Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
control number 1506-0066.
Mail: Policy Division, Financial Crimes Enforcement
Network, P.O. Box 39, Vienna, VA 22183. Refer to Docket Number FINCEN-
2025-0002 and OMB control number 1506-0066.
Please submit comments by one method only. Comments will be
reviewed consistent with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 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.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: FinCEN's Regulatory Support Section by
submitting an inquiry at www.fincen.gov/contact.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Statutory and Regulatory Provisions

The legislative framework generally referred to as the BSA consists
of the Currency and Financial 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),\1\ and other legislation, including

[[Page 14184]]

the Anti-Money Laundering of 2020 (AML Act).\2\ The BSA is codified at
12 U.S.C. 1829b, 12 U.S.C. 1951-1960, 31 U.S.C. 5311-5314 and 5316-
5336, including notes thereto, with implementing regulations at 31 CFR
chapter X.
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\1\ Public Law 107-56, 115 Stat. 272 (Oct. 26, 2001).
\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 (Jan.
1, 2021).
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The BSA authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury (Secretary) to,
inter alia, require financial institutions to keep records and file
reports that are determined to have a high degree of usefulness in
criminal, tax, or regulatory investigations, risk assessments or
proceedings, or in intelligence or counter-intelligence activities,
including analysis, to protect against terrorism, and to implement
anti-money laundering/countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT)
programs and compliance procedures.\3\ The Secretary has delegated to
the Director of FinCEN (Director) the authority to administer the
BSA.\4\
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\3\ See 31 U.S.C. 5311(1)-(2).
\4\ Treasury Order 180-01 (Reaffirmed Jan. 14, 2020); see also
31 U.S.C. 310(b)(2)(I) (providing that the Director of FinCEN
``[a]dminister the requirements of subchapter II of chapter 53 of
this title, chapter 2 of title I of Public Law 91-508, and section
21 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act, to the extent delegated
such authority by the Secretary.'').
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The Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment
Act of 2010 \5\ (CISADA) amended the Iran Sanctions Act of 1996 \6\ by
expanding economic sanctions against Iran, and required the Secretary
to prescribe regulations to establish one or more specific requirements
for U.S. financial institutions maintaining correspondent accounts for
foreign financial institutions, in connection with certain statutory
sanctionable activities.\7\ On October 11, 2011, pursuant to section
104(e) of CISADA, FinCEN issued a final rule \8\ requiring a bank \9\
operating within the United States (U.S. bank) that maintains a
correspondent account \10\ for a specified foreign bank \11\ to make
certain inquiries and report certain information about transactions or
other financial services provided by that foreign bank. U.S. banks are
only required to report this information upon receiving a specific
written request from FinCEN (CISADA Request).
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\5\ Public Law 111-195, 124 Stat. 1312 (July 1, 2010), codified
at 22 U.S.C. 8501-8551. Implementing regulations are at 31 CFR part
1060.
\6\ Public Law 104-172, 110 Stat. 1541 (Aug. 5, 1996) (as
amended), codified at 50 U.S.C. 1701 note.
\7\ See CISADA, sections 104(e) and 104(c)(2) (describing
sanctionable activities).
\8\ See FinCEN, Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability,
and Divestment Reporting Requirements, 76 FR 62607 (Oct. 11, 2011).
\9\ ``Bank'' is defined in the regulation (31 CFR
1060.300(a)(1)) by way of 31 CFR 1010.100(d).
\10\ ``Correspondent account'' is defined in the regulation (31
CFR 1060.300(a)(1)) by way of 31 CFR 1010.605(c)(1)(ii).
\11\ ``Foreign bank'' is defined in the regulation (31 CFR
1060.300(a)(1)) by way of 31 CFR 1010.100(u).
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(a) General CISADA Requirements for a U.S. Bank ¹²
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\12\ 31 CFR 1060.300(a).
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Upon receiving a CISADA Request, a U.S. bank that maintains a
correspondent account for a specified foreign bank is required to make
certain inquiries and provide a report to FinCEN (CISADA Report) of:
(i) any correspondent account maintained by such foreign bank for an
Iranian-linked financial institution designated under IEEPA (Iranian-
linked financial institution); \13\ (ii) any direct or indirect
transfer of funds for or on behalf of an Iranian-linked financial
institution processed by such foreign bank within the preceding 90
calendar days, other than through a correspondent account; (iii) and
any direct or indirect transfer of funds for or on behalf of an IRGC-
linked person designated under IEEPA (IRGC-linked person) \14\
processed by such foreign bank within the preceding 90 calendar days.
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\13\ The International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977
(IEEPA), Pubic Law 95-223, 91 Stat. 1626 (Dec. 28, 1977), codified
at 50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq. For purposes of 31 CFR 1060.300,
``Iranian-linked financial institution designated under IEEPA''
means a financial institution designated by the U.S. Government
pursuant to IEEPA (or listed in an annex to an Executive order
issued pursuant to IEEPA) in connection with Iran's proliferation of
weapons of mass destruction or delivery systems for weapons of mass
destruction, or in connection with Iran's support for international
terrorism.
\14\ For purposes of 31 CFR 1060.300, an ``IRGC linked person
designated under IEEPA'' means the IRGC or any of its agents or
affiliates designated by the U.S. Government pursuant to IEEPA (or
listed in an annex to an Executive order issued pursuant to IEEPA).
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(b) Specific CISADA Requirements for a U.S. Bank: Duty To Inquire
¹⁵
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\15\ 31 CFR 1060.300(b).
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Upon receiving a CISADA Request, a U.S. bank that maintains a
correspondent account for a specified foreign bank has a duty to
inquire and request that a specified foreign bank certify whether the
foreign bank: (i) maintains a correspondent account for an Iranian-
linked financial institution; (ii) has processed one or more transfers
of funds within the preceding 90 calendar days, for or on behalf of,
directly or indirectly, an Iranian-linked financial institution, other
than through a correspondent account; (iii) has processed one or more
transfer of funds within the preceding 90 calendar days, for or on
behalf of, directly or indirectly, an IRGC-linked person. Upon such
inquiry, a U.S. bank shall request that the foreign bank agree to
notify the U.S. bank if the foreign bank subsequently establishes a new
correspondent account for an Iranian-linked financial institution at
any time within 365 calendar days from the date of the foreign bank's
initial response to the U.S. bank.
There is an optional CISADA certification form U.S. banks may use
to obtain the necessary information from specified foreign banks.\16\
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\16\ See Optional CISADA Certification Form, available at
https://www.fincen.gov/sites/default/files/federal_register_notice/CISADA_Certification.pdf.
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(c) Specific CISADA Requirements for a U.S. Bank: CISADA Reporting
Requirements ¹⁷
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\17\ 31 CFR 1060.300(c).
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Upon receiving a CISADA Request, a U.S. bank is required to report
to FinCEN certain information for any specified foreign bank for which
the U.S. bank maintains correspondent accounts:
1. Certain U.S. bank CISADA reporting requirements when a foreign
bank maintains a correspondent account for, or has processed one or
more transfers of funds for, an Iranian-linked financial institution.
a. The name of any foreign bank that certifies to the U.S. bank
that the foreign bank maintains a correspondent account for an Iranian-
linked financial institution, and the following related information:
(i) the name of the Iranian-linked financial institution; (ii) the full
name(s) on the correspondent account and the correspondent account
number(s); (iii) any information regarding whether the correspondent
account has been blocked or restricted; (iv) other applicable
identifying information for the correspondent account; and (v) the
approximate value in U.S. dollars of transactions processed through the
correspondent account within the preceding 90 calendar days; \18\
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\18\ 31 CFR 1060.300(c)(1)(i).
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b. The name of any foreign bank that certifies to the U.S. bank
that the foreign bank has processed one or more transfers of funds
within the preceding 90 calendar days for or on behalf of, directly or
indirectly, an Iranian-linked financial institution, other than through
a correspondent account, and the following related information: (i) the
name of the Iranian-linked financial institution; (ii) the identity of
the system or means by which such transfer(s) of funds was processed;
(iii) the full name

[[Page 14185]]

on the account(s) and the account number(s), if applicable; (iv) other
applicable identifying information for such transfer(s) of funds; and
(v) the approximate value in U.S. dollars of such transfer(s) of funds
processed within the preceding 90 calendar days; \19\
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\19\ 31 CFR 1060.300(c)(1)(ii).
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2. Certain U.S. bank CISADA reporting requirements when a specified
foreign bank has processed one or more transfers of funds for an IRGC-
linked person.
a. The name of any foreign bank that certifies to the U.S. bank
that the foreign bank has processed one or more transfers of funds
within the preceding 90 calendar days for or on behalf of, directly or
indirectly, an IRGC-linked person, and the following related
information: (i) the name of the IRGC-linked person; (ii) the identity
of the system or means by which such transfer(s) of funds was
processed; (iii) the full name on the account(s) and the account
number(s), if applicable; (iv) other applicable identifying information
for such transfer(s) of funds; and (v) the approximate value in U.S.
dollars of such transfer(s) of funds processed within the preceding 90
calendar days; \20\
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\20\ 31 CFR 1060.300(c)(1)(iii).
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3. Certain U.S. bank CISADA reporting requirements when a specified
foreign bank does not maintain a correspondent account for and has not
processed one more transfers of funds for, an Iranian-linked financial
institution or an IRGC-linked person.
a. The name of any specified foreign bank that certifies to the
U.S. bank that: (i) the foreign bank does not maintain a correspondent
account for an Iranian-linked financial institution; (ii) to the
knowledge of the foreign bank, the foreign bank has not processed one
or more transfers of funds within the preceding 90 calendar days for or
on behalf of, directly or indirectly, an Iranian-linked financial
institution, other than through a correspondent account; and/or (ii) to
the knowledge of the foreign bank, the foreign bank has not processed
one or more transfers of funds within the preceding 90 calendar days
for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, an IRGC-linked person;
\21\
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\21\ 31 CFR 1060.300(c)(1)(iv).
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4. Certain U.S. bank CISADA reporting requirements when a U.S. bank
cannot determine whether a specified foreign bank maintains a
correspondent account for, or has processed one or more transfers of
funds for, an Iranian-linked financial institution or an IRGC-linked
person.
a. The name of any specified foreign bank for which the U.S. bank
is unable to determine if the foreign bank: (i) does not maintain a
correspondent account for an Iranian-linked financial institution; (ii)
has not processed one or more transfers of funds within the preceding
90 calendar days for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, an
Iranian-linked financial institution, other than through a
correspondent account; and/or (iii) has not processed one or more
transfers of funds within the preceding 90 calendar days for or on
behalf of, directly or indirectly an IRGC-linked person.\22\
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\22\ 31 CFR 1060.300(c)(1)(v).
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b. The U.S. bank must also include the reason(s) the U.S. bank
cannot make these determinations, such as the failure of the foreign
bank to respond, or the U.S. bank has information inconsistent with the
foreign bank's certification; \23\
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\23\ Id.
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5. Certain U.S. bank CISADA reporting requirements when a specified
foreign bank establishes a new correspondent account for an Iranian-
linked financial institution.
a. The name of any specified foreign bank that notifies the U.S.
bank that the foreign bank has established a new correspondent account
for an Iranian-linked financial institution at any time within 365
calendar days from the date of the foreign bank's initial response to
the U.S. bank's request for the foreign bank's certification; \24\ and
the following related information:
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\24\ 31 CFR 1060.300(c)(1)(vi).
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b. (i) the name of the Iranian-linked financial institution; (ii)
the full name(s) on the correspondent account and the correspondent
account number(s); (iii) applicable information regarding whether the
correspondent account has been blocked or restricted; and (iv) other
applicable identifying information for the correspondent account; \25\
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\25\ Id.
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6. Certain U.S. bank CISADA reporting requirements when a U.S. bank
does not maintain a correspondent account for a specified foreign bank
in a CISADA Request.
a. If applicable, confirmation that the U.S. bank does not maintain
a correspondent account for the foreign bank(s) specified in the CISADA
Request, but only in instances in which FinCEN specifically requests
that the U.S. bank report such information; \26\ and
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\26\ 31 CFR 1060.300(c)(1)(vii).
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7. U.S. bank CISADA reporting requirements when foreign bank
certification is received after the 45-calendar day reporting window in
the CISADA Request.
a. If applicable, the name of any foreign bank that provides a
certification to the U.S. bank more than 45 calendar days after the
date of the CISADA Request, along with all applicable related
information associated with that certification.\27\
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\27\ 31 CFR 1060.300(c)(1)(viii).
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(d) Specific CISADA Reporting Requirements for a U.S. Bank: CISADA
Reporting Deadlines ²⁸
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\28\ 31 CFR 1060.300(c)(2).
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A U.S. bank must report the requested CISADA information within 45
calendar days of receipt of a CISADA Request.\29\ A U.S. bank must also
report within 10 calendar days of receipt of any subsequent
notification received from a foreign bank regarding the establishment
of a new correspondent account for an Iranian-linked financial
institution.\30\ For any foreign bank certifications received after the
45-calendar day deadline, a U.S. bank is required to report within 10
calendar days of receipt of the foreign bank certification.\31\
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\29\ 31 CFR 1060.300(c)(2)(i).
\30\ 31 CFR 1060.300(c)(2)(ii).
\31\ 31 CFR 1060.300(c)(2)(iii).
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(e) U.S. Bank Record Retention Requirements ³²
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\32\ 31 CFR 1060.300(d).
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A U.S. bank must maintain a copy of any CISADA Report and the
original or any business record equivalent of any supporting
documentation for a CISADA Report, including a foreign bank
certification or other responses to an inquiry for a period five
years.\33\
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\33\ Id.
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(f) A U.S. Bank Remains Subject to Applicable BSA Requirements
³⁴
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\34\ 31 CFR 1060.300(e).
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Nothing under 31 CFR 1060.300 shall be construed to require a U.S.
bank to take any action, or to decline to take any action, other than
the requirements identified in 31 CFR 1060.300, with respect to an
account established for, or a transaction engaged in with, a foreign
bank. A U.S. bank subject to a CISADA Request remains subject to any
applicable program, recordkeeping, and reporting requirements under the
BSA and FinCEN's implementing regulations in 31 CFR chapter X.\35\
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\35\ Id.

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[[Page 14186]]

II. Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) ³⁶
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\36\ Public Law 104-13, 109 Stat. 163 (May 22, 1995), codified
at 44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A).
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Title: Reporting obligations on foreign bank relationships with
Iranian-linked financial institutions designated under IEEPA and IRGC-
linked persons designated under IEEPA (31 CFR 1060.300).
OMB Control Number: 1506-0066.
Form Number: Optional form--certification for purposes of section
104(e) of CISADA and 31 CFR 1060.300.
Abstract: FinCEN is issuing this notice to renew the OMB control
number for the CISADA regulations that require, upon receiving a CISADA
Request, a U.S. bank that maintains a correspondent account for a
specified foreign bank to inquire with the foreign bank and report to
FinCEN with respect to transactions or other financial services
provided by that foreign bank to Iranian-linked financial institutions
and IRGC-linked persons.
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 Potential Respondents: 9,384 banks.\37\
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\37\ Table 1 below sets forth a breakdown of the number of U.S.
banks, as defined in 31 CFR 1010.100 and as grouped in 31 CFR
1020.210, that are required to comply with 31 CFR 1060.300. However,
note that not all U.S. banks maintain correspondent accounts for
foreign banks. As a result, in practice, the regulations are not
likely to require responses from U.S. banks that do not maintain
correspondent accounts for foreign banks. For that reason, FinCEN
also estimates the number of U.S. banks that maintain correspondent
accounts for foreign banks in table 2 below.
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The types of banks covered by this notice are ``banks'' as defined
in 31 CFR 1010.100(d), which includes each agent, agency, branch or
office within the United States of any person doing business in one or
more of the capacities listed below:
(1) a commercial bank or trust company organized under the laws of
any State or of the United States;
(2) a private bank;
(3) a savings and loan association or a building and loan
association organized under the laws of any State or of the United
States;
(4) an insured institution as defined in section 401 of the
National Housing Act;
(5) a savings bank, industrial bank or other thrift institution;
(6) A credit union organized under the law of any State or of the
United States;
(7) any other organization (except a money services business)
chartered under the banking laws of any state and subject to the
supervision of the bank supervisory authorities of a State;
(8) a bank organized under foreign law;
(9) any national banking association or corporation acting under
the provisions of section 25(a) of the Federal Reserve Act of Dec. 23,
1913, as added by the Edge Act of Dec. 24, 1919, ch. 18, 41 Stat. 378,
as amended (12 U.S.C. 611-32).
FinCEN notes that these banks, as defined in 31 CFR 1010.100(d),
are subject to the Anti-money Laundering (AML) Program Requirements for
Banks at 31 CFR 1020.210,\38\ which includes two broad subcategories of
banks: banks regulated by a Federal functional regulator \39\ and banks
lacking a Federal functional regulator.\40\ For purposes of consistency
and comparability across FinCEN rulemaking activities,\41\ and to
enhance the parsimony and readability of data, the population of
potential respondents is therefore presented using the subcategories as
delineated in 31 CFR 1020.210 in table 1 below. Table 1 presents an
estimate of the total population of entities that could each
individually incur the recordkeeping and reporting burdens associated
with receiving a CISADA Request. However, because making such requests
is discretionary and occurs at low frequency, FinCEN anticipates that
the estimated number of potential respondents will continue to vastly
exceed the estimated number of expected respondents, as it has
historically based on FinCEN's experience with CISADA Requests.
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\38\ 31 CFR 1020.210 is titled ``Anti-Money Laundering Program
Requirements for Banks.'' See 31 CFR 1010.100(d) (defining
``banks'').
\39\ 31 CFR 1020.210(a). See also 31 CFR 1010.100(r) for list of
Federal functional regulators (as defined in section 509 of the
Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (12 U.S.C. 6809)).
\40\ 31 CFR 1020.210(b).
\41\ See, e.g., FinCEN, Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the
Financing of Terrorism Programs Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, 89 FR
55428 (Jul. 3, 2024); FinCEN, Agency Information Collection
Activities; Proposed Renewal; Comment Request: Renewal Without
Change of Transactions of Exempt Persons Regulations, and FinCEN
Form 110, Designation of Exempt Person Report, 89 FR 65012 (Aug. 8,
2024); and FinCEN, Agency Information Collection Activities;
Proposed Renewal; Comment Request: Renewal Without Change of
Purchases of Bank Checks and Drafts, Cashier's Checks, Money Orders,
and Traveler's Checks, 89 FR 76187 (Sept. 17, 2024).

Table 1--Distribution of U.S. Banks Required To Comply With This Notice
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Number of U.S.
Type of U.S. bank banks
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Banks with a Federal functional regulator (FFR)......... \a\ 8,989
Banks lacking an FFR.................................... \b\ 395
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Total............................................... 9,384
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\a\ This includes 4,490 Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)-
insured depository institutions (i.e., federally regulated banks)
according to the FDIC's quarterly data summary for Q4 2024, and 4,499
National Credit Union Administration (NCUA)-chartered credit unions
(i.e. federally regulated credit unions) according to NCUA's quarterly
credit union data summary for Q4 2024.
\b\ The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System Master Account
and Services Database contains data on financial institutions that
utilize Federal Reserve Bank financial services, including those with
no Federal functional regulator. FinCEN used this data to identify 395
banks and credit unions utilizing Reserve Bank financial services with
no federal regulator.

Estimated Number of Expected Respondents: 24 U.S. banks, annually.
FinCEN intends to continue to send CISADA Requests directly to U.S.
banks that, based on all available information, it has reason to
believe may maintain correspondent accounts for a specified foreign
bank. Therefore, while the regulation applies to all U.S. banks, a
CISADA request should, in practice, only impose reporting and
recordkeeping costs on select U.S. banks with indicia of past, ongoing,
or foreseeable future relationships with a specified foreign bank. For
purposes of assessing potential PRA burden, FinCEN, in the agency's
view, is making a conservative estimate with respect to the number of
U.S. banks that may maintain a correspondent account for a specified
foreign bank in a CISADA Request by assuming that any U.S. bank that
maintains a correspondent account for any foreign bank could be an
affected bank under the rule. Table 2 presents an estimate of this
subpopulation of U.S. banks below based on available data from the
third quarter of the most recently ended calendar year (2024).

Table 2--Distribution of Potentially Affected Financial Institutions
That Maintain Correspondent Accounts for Foreign Banks
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Number of
Type of financial institution financial
institutions
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Banks with an FFR....................................... \a\ 60

[[Page 14187]]

Banks lacking an FFR.................................... \b\ 12
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Total............................................... 72
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\a\ Data are from the Federal Financial Institution Examination Council
Central Data Repository for Reports of Condition and Income (Call
Reports) and Uniform Bank Performance Reports (UBPRs), available for
most FDIC-insured institutions. Using this source of data, FinCEN
determines that as of third quarter (Q3) in 2024, approximately 60
banking organizations (national and state banks, trusts, thrifts and
savings and loans, branches and agencies of foreign banking
organizations, representative offices, Edge Act corporations, and
agreement corporations) will be affected by this rule on any given
year. Specifically, we determine that there are approximately 60
entities (U.S. banks; national and state chartered, trusts, savings
and loans, thrifts; branches and agencies of foreign banks; Edge Act
corporations; and agreement corporations) that report values for
deposit liabilities of banks in foreign countries. Deposit liabilities
in a foreign country is an indication that a bank maintains
correspondent accounts with a foreign financial institution. Credit
unions, due to chartering restrictions, do not typically maintain
foreign correspondent accounts.
\b\ The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System Master Account
and Services Database contains data on financial institutions that
utilize Reserve Bank financial services, including those with no
federal regulator. FinCEN used this data to identify an additional 12
international banking entities with no federal regulator and who do
not file Call Reports, but who are also likely to maintain
correspondent accounts with a foreign financial institution.

Historically, since the CISADA regulations were implemented in
2011, FinCEN has used this authority in limited circumstances for a
variety of reasons that has, in turn, limited the number of U.S. banks
that have received a CISADA Request. Moreover, prior to issuing a
CISADA Request, FinCEN evaluates and relies on, to the extent possible,
information available to the Department of the Treasury (Treasury), or
publicly available, to further identify and narrow the list of U.S.
banks likely to maintain a correspondent account with a specified
foreign bank. Both low historical volumes of CISADA Requests and other
practices that limit the number of U.S. banks receiving a CISADA
Request support FinCEN conservative estimates of a lower number of
affected U.S. banks. For those reasons, FinCEN finds it unlikely that
many of the 72 banks identified in table 2 would receive a CISADA
Request. Thus, FinCEN assumes that each of the maximum number of U.S.
banks estimated to receive a CISADA Request (expected respondents)
would not receive more than one CISADA Request every three years, which
is a time frame based on the PRA requirement to renew this OMB control
number (1506-0066) every three years. This approach equates to an
average maximum of 24 expected respondents per year.\42\
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\42\ If 72 U.S. banks each receive one request over the course
of a three-year period, that equates to 24 U.S. banks receiving a
CISADA Request each year (72 banks/3 years).
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Estimated Number of Responses: 72 CISADA Reports.
As described above, a CISADA Request issued by FinCEN may pertain
to one or more specified foreign bank(s), thereby engendering the need
for a U.S. bank to provide one or more CISADA Report(s), responsively.
Additionally, CISADA Reports associated with the same CISADA Request
may vary in length and detail. For example, in certain instances,
FinCEN may request that if a U.S. bank receives a CISADA Request, and
the U.S. bank does not maintain a correspondent account for a specified
foreign bank, the U.S. bank may still be required to report this
information to FinCEN.\43\ Such a CISADA Report may be considerably
shorter than if the U.S. bank did maintain a correspondent account for
a specified foreign bank. Similarly, if a U.S. bank does maintain a
correspondent account for a specified foreign bank, but that specified
foreign bank is able to certify that the foreign bank does not provide
any financial services to Iranian-linked financial institutions and
IRGC-linked persons, the associated CISADA Report would be shorter than
if such financial services had been provided.
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\43\ See 31 CFR 1060.300(c)(1)(vii).
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Because FinCEN has used its authority to make CISADA Requests in
limited circumstances and given its data from previous CISADA Requests,
FinCEN estimates that it will make CISADA Requests to U.S. banks that
include no more than approximately three foreign banks per year, on
average, in each CISADA Request. Thus, if up to 24 U.S. banks, which
may maintain correspondent accounts for specified foreign banks are
required to respond to CISADA Requests that identify on average three
specified foreign banks annually, FinCEN would expect to receive up to
72 CISADA Reports per year, on average.
Estimated Reporting and Recordkeeping Burden: To estimate the
annual PRA burden and cost of complying with 31 CFR 1060.300, the
CISADA Reports are divided into two categories: (i) CISADA Reports
submitted by U.S. banks that maintain correspondent accounts for
specified foreign banks; and (ii) CISADA Reports submitted by U.S.
banks that do not maintain correspondent accounts for specified foreign
banks.
(i) CISADA Reports submitted by U.S. banks that maintain
correspondent accounts for specified foreign banks.
Each time a U.S. bank receives a CISADA Request for which the U.S.
bank maintains a correspondent account for a specified foreign bank,
FinCEN has historically estimated that the U.S. bank \44\ will incur
the following burden per request:
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\44\ FinCEN's estimates have, to date, been restricted to the
anticipated burden to a given U.S. bank of (1) relaying FinCEN's
request for data to the foreign banks for which it maintains
correspondent accounts and (2) transmitting the information reported
by the foreign bank back to FinCEN. As such, the primary reporting
and recordkeeping burdens, which accrue to the foreign bank in
preparing and providing reports and certifications to its U.S. bank,
are not included in these burden estimates. FinCEN is asking the
public for further information, data, and comments with respect this
approach in the additional requests for comment below.
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31 CFR 1060.300(b)--one hour per U.S. bank to inquire of a
foreign bank, because the U.S. bank can send the optional certification
form to the foreign bank;
31 CFR 1060.300(c)--one hour per U.S. bank to report to
FinCEN the foreign bank's response to the U.S. bank's inquiry, because
the U.S. bank can submit the response from the foreign bank to FinCEN
electronically; and
31 CFR 1060.300(d)--one hour per U.S. bank to maintain a
record of its report to FinCEN and any supporting documentation for the
report, including a foreign bank certification or other response to the
U.S. bank's inquiry.
These estimates result in a total estimated average burden of three
hours for each CISADA Report submitted by a U.S. bank that maintains a
correspondent account for a specific foreign bank.\45\
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\45\ Three burden hours per U.S. bank with respect to each
CISADA Report is the summation of one hour each to comply with 31
CFR 1060.300(b), 31 CFR 1060.300(c), and 31 CFR 1060.300(d).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

(ii) CISADA Reports submitted by U.S. banks that do not maintain
correspondent accounts for specified foreign banks.
FinCEN has historically estimated that the average reporting burden
for a U.S. bank that does not maintain a correspondent account for a
specified foreign bank will be approximately 30 minutes per report
responsive to a CISADA Request. This estimate is based

[[Page 14188]]

on the ease of electronically filing CISADA Reports with FinCEN.
To determine the total annual PRA burden associated with 24 CISADA
Requests,\46\ FinCEN estimated the distribution of CISADA Reports by
respective categories that would be submitted by U.S. banks responsive
to such requests. This required imposing assumptions about the ratio of
reports that are anticipated to come from U.S. banks that maintain
correspondent accounts for specified foreign banks (category (i)
above), versus CISADA Reports submitted by U.S. banks that do not
maintain correspondent accounts for specified foreign banks (category
(ii) above).\47\ Informed by data from historical requests, FinCEN
conservatively assumes that one CISADA Request would inquire about a
U.S. bank's maintenance of correspondent accounts for three specified
foreign banks. FinCEN further assumes that a U.S. bank would maintain
two of the three foreign banks in the CISADA Request as correspondent
accounts resulting in two lengthier CISADA Reports, as described in the
category (i) burden discussion above. FinCEN also assumes that a U.S.
bank would not maintain a correspondent account for one of the three
foreign banks in the CISADA Request but would nevertheless incur the
reporting burden as described in category (ii) above. Consequently, of
the 72 CISADA Reports estimated to be submitted annually, approximately
48 CISADA Reports would pertain to a U.S. bank that maintains a
correspondent account for a specified foreign bank and 24 CISADA
Reports would come from a U.S. bank that does not maintain a
correspondent account for a specified foreign bank.\48\
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\46\ See footnote 42.
\47\ For purposes of estimation, FinCEN assumes that in all
cases when a U.S. bank does not maintain of correspondent account
for a specified foreign bank included in a received CISADA Request,
the U.S. bank would be required to report this information to
FinCEN, though this need not be true in all cases.
\48\ Two thirds of 72 CISADA Reports equates to 48 CISADA
Reports submitted by U.S. banks that maintain a correspondent
account for a specified foreign bank. One third of 72 CISADA Reports
equates to 24 CISADA Reports submitted by U.S. banks that do not
maintain a correspondent account for a specified foreign bank.
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FinCEN's estimate of the annual PRA burden, therefore, is 156
hours, as detailed in table 3 below:

Table 3--Estimated Hourly Burden Associated With the Reporting and Recordkeeping Activities of 31 CFR 1060.300
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Annual number of
CISADA report type responses Burden hours per response Annual burden hours
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CISADA Reports submitted by a U.S. 48 3 hours....................... 144
bank that maintains a correspondent
account for a specified foreign
bank.
CISADA Reports submitted by a U.S. 24 30 minutes.................... 12
bank that does not maintain a
correspondent account for a
specified foreign bank.
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Total........................... 72 .............................. 156
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

To estimate the costs associated with the annual PRA burden hours,
FinCEN is utilizing a fully loaded composite hourly wage rate of
$120.07, or, rounded to the nearest dollar, $120.00.\49\ The total
estimated cost of the annual PRA burden is $18,720, as reflected in
table 4 below.
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\49\ The wage rate applied here is a general composite hourly
wage ($85.55), scaled by a private-sector benefits factor of 1.42
($120.07 = $85.55 x 1.42), that incorporates the mean wage data
(available for download at https://www.bls.gov/oes/tables.htm, ``May
2023--National industry-specific and by ownership'') associated with
the six occupational codes (11-1010: Chief Executives; 11-3021:
Computer and Information Systems Managers; 11-3031: Financial
Managers; 13-1041: Compliance Officers; 23-1010: Lawyers and
Judicial Law Clerks; 43-3099: Financial Clerks, All Other) for each
of the nine groupings of NAICS industry codes that FinCEN determined
are most directly comparable to its eleven categories of covered
financial institutions as delineated in 31 CFR chapter X parts 1020
to 1030. The benefit factor is 1 plus the benefit/wages ratio,
where, as of June 2023, Total Benefits = 29.4 and Wages and salaries
= 70.6 (29.4/70.6 = 0.42) based on the private industry workers
series data downloaded from https://www.bls.gov/news.release/archives/ecec_09122023.pdf, accessed December 22, 2024. Given that
many occupations provide benefits beyond cash wages (e.g.,
insurance, paid leave, etc.), the private sector benefit is applied
to reflect the total cost to the employer.

Table 4--Total Cost of Annual PRA Burden
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CISADA report type Burden hours Wage rate Total cost
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CISADA Reports submitted by a U.S. bank that maintains a \a\ 144 \b\ 120.00 $17,280
correspondent accounts for a specified foreign bank............
CISADA Reports submitted by a U.S. bank that does not maintain a \c\ 12 120.00 1,440
correspondent account for a specified foreign bank.............
-----------------------------------------------
Total....................................................... 156 .............. 18,720
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\a\ See table 3 above.
\b\ See footnote 48.
\c\ See table 3 above.

Estimated Total Annual Recordkeeping and Reporting Burden: The
estimated total annual PRA burden is 156 hours, as set out in table 3.
Estimated Total Annual Recordkeeping and Reporting Cost: The
estimated total annual PRA cost is $18,720, as set out in table 4.
Under the PRA, FinCEN as a Federal 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.
Requests for Comment: Comments submitted in response to this notice
will

[[Page 14189]]

be summarized and/or included in the request for OMB approval. All
comments will become a matter of public record.
General Request for Comments--Comments are invited on: (1) 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; (2) the accuracy of FinCEN estimates of the
burden of the collection of information; (3) ways to enhance the
quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; (4)
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 (5) estimates
of capital or start-up costs and costs of operation, maintenance, and
purchase of services to provide information.
Additional Requests for Comment--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. To assist with those
activities, FinCEN is also requesting comments in response to the
following additional questions:
(1) To what extent do estimates that exclude the reporting and
recordkeeping burdens on foreign banks potentially underestimate the
full PRA burden associated with this control number?
(2) Should FinCEN revise its PRA burden estimates to account for
the burden on affected foreign banks? Why or why not? If so, please
suggest sources or provide data that would facilitate this update.
(3) Please provide comment, preferably including, or with reference
to, the data relied upon to make such comments, on FinCEN's estimates
of banks that maintain correspondent accounts for foreign banks. In
particular, FinCEN invites public feedback on:
(a) The general accuracy of its population estimates.
(b) Further information about the distribution of potentially
affected U.S. Banks, such as meaningful differences in size or ability
to incur the reporting and recordkeeping requirements associated with
FinCEN regulation.

Andrea M. Gacki,
Director, Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.
[FR Doc. 2025-05349 Filed 3-27-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4810-02-P