On April 7, 2026, FinCEN issued a proposed rule intended to fundamentally reform financial institutions’ anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) programs under the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA). According to FinCEN, the proposed rule would promote risk-based, reasonably designed programs and greater consistency in how banks are evaluated for effectiveness.
The proposed rule outlines several important changes to the compliance and oversight of AML/CFT programs, including:
Refocusing compliance obligations and expectations on effectiveness by distinguishing between deficiencies stemming from program design and implementation;
Reinforcing Treasury’s belief that financial institutions are best positioned to identify and evaluate their illicit finance risks;
Empowering financial institutions to devote more attention and resources toward higher risks rather than toward lower risks;
Clarifying expectations related to certain program requirements and functions—including independent testing and audit functions—to ensure that examiners and auditors do not substitute their subjective judgment in place of financial institutions’ risk-based and reasonably designed AML/CFT programs; and
Affirming FinCEN’s central role in AML/CFT supervision, including through the introduction of a notice and consultation framework between Federal banking supervisors and FinCEN with respect to significant AML/CFT supervisory actions.
With the new proposed rule, FinCEN is withdrawing a prior proposed rule published on July 3, 2024. Comments on the proposed rule must be received by June 9, 2026.
Read FinCEN’s announcement here.
The Federal Register Notice can be found here.