Training Materials for USA Patriot Act

Answer by John Burnett: The USA PATRIOT Act is often cited (or blamed) as the source of certain requirements that affect bank compliance and the lives of millions of individuals. Actually, however, almost all of the Act is a series of changes to other laws already “on the books,” like the Bank Secrecy Act. For training purposes, you probably should focus on ensuring that your staff members understand and adhere to your bank’s policies and procedures for compliance in your BSA/AML program, which will include topics like CIP, CTR completion, exemptions, recognition and referrals of suspicious activity for potential SAR filings, current trends in SAR filings (such as the increases in reports of mortgage and appraisal fraud), etc.