The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) on April 3, 2018 published guidance on the Customer Due Diligence Requirements for Financial Institutions rule (the “CDD Rule) that will come into effect on May 11, 2018. FinCEN’s CDD Guidance, in the form of frequently asked questions, is comprised of 36 questions and answers covering a range of issues, from the scope of due diligence up the ownership chain of legal entities to due diligence requirements applicable (or not) to foreign banks.

The FinCEN CDD Guidance is available here, and contains links to the final CDD rule published on May 11, 2016, as amended on September 29, 2017.

For an excellent discussion of FinCEN’s CDD Guidance, see Brian Monroe, FinCEN FAQ brings clarity on new beneficial ownership rules, but some ambiguity remains, Association of Certified Financial Crime Specialists (April 13, 2018).

Related MassPoint Publications and Updates:

• Hdeel Abdelhady Discussed the NYDFS Habib Bank Enforcement Action, September 2017.
• FinCEN Expands Geographic Targeting Orders, August 2017.
• Congressional Hearing on Terrorism Finance Probes Bank Secrecy Act Data Processing Effectiveness, Lack of Beneficial Ownership Transparency, and Potential BSA and Patriot Act Amendments, April 2017.
• Nonfinancial Risk For Banks: Incorporating Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) to Identify and Manage Banks’ Legal, Commercial and Reputation Risk, April 2017.
• Trump’s Foreign Policy May Further Strain Foreign Correspondent Banking (Derisking), January 2017.
• Do U.S. Banking Regulators Like the NYDFS Have Authority to Enforce OFAC Sanctions?, July 2016.
• Panama Papers Renew Relevance of Proposed U.S. Beneficial Ownership Rule.
• Proposed U.S. Rule Requires Banks to Collect Beneficial Ownership Information, November 2015.
• Cross-Compliance for Financial Institutions: the Anti-Corruption-AML Nexus, September 2014.