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Joint Banking Regulators Align AML/CFT Programme Rules With FinCEN’s Risk-Based Framework

Money LaunderingJoint Banking Regulators Align AML/CFT Programme Rules With FinCEN's Risk-Based Framework

Alongside FinCEN’s landmark April 7 NPRM, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) issued a coordinated joint Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to amend their respective AML/CFT programme requirements for supervised institutions. The joint action ensures that the new effectiveness-based framework proposed by FinCEN extends uniformly across all federally supervised depository institutions — a structural alignment that has been lacking in the fragmented existing regime.

The agencies’ joint proposal would: incorporate FinCEN’s existing Customer Due Diligence requirements into formal programme rules, eliminating the current duplication between FinCEN and agency-specific CDD obligations; establish a new consultation and notification framework requiring agencies to provide FinCEN’s director with at least 30 days’ advance notice before initiating significant AML-related supervisory or enforcement actions; and clarify that banks may share AML/CFT-related information with FinCEN in the context of supervisory and enforcement matters.

The enforcement coordination mechanism is particularly significant. Historically, FinCEN concluded only a small fraction of AML enforcement actions independently — in 2025, just two — while prudential regulators, state officials, and the DOJ concluded an estimated 35. The new consultation framework will change this dynamic, giving FinCEN a formal seat at the table before major supervisory actions and reducing the risk of inconsistent or duplicative enforcement across agencies.

For banks and credit unions, the joint NPRM creates a single, harmonised compliance planning exercise: institutions need not navigate divergent agency standards but can develop a unified gap assessment against the common framework. The comment period closes June 9, 2026, and the proposed 12-month implementation window means institutions should begin internal readiness assessments now rather than awaiting final rule publication.

By FCCT Editorial Team

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are independent views solely of the author(s) expressed in their private capacity.

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