On September 5, 2025, FinCEN issued guidance to encourage and promote appropriate, voluntary cross-border sharing of information between and among financial institutions, including appropriate foreign financial institutions. According to FinCEN, the Guidance aims to help combat the threats posed by money laundering, terrorist financing, and other illicit finance activity, including from drug trafficking organizations, foreign terrorist organizations, and fraudsters.
The Guidance was issued in consultation with the OCC, the FDIC, and the NCU. It clarifies that while financial institutions are prohibited from sharing Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs), as well as information that would reveal the existence of a SAR, the BSA does not prohibit financial institutions from sharing - including with U.S. and foreign financial institutions - the underlying facts, transactions, and documents upon which a SAR is based. The guidance also provides examples of information that typically would not reveal the existence of a SAR.
FinCEN’s press release can be found here.
The full guidance can be found here.