FinCEN has updated its “SAR Filings by Industry” webpage to include data from 2020. In addition to this webpage, FinCEN has an interactive map and and Interactive SAR Stats which allow BSA professionals to analyze what types of suspicious activity are being reported in their areas. As this data allows specific sorting of the data, BSA professionals are able to sort by many different fields including primary regulator, county,

On 8/3/2021, FinCEN announced that Acting Director Michael Mosier will depart FinCEN at the end of the week for a new opportunity, after serving as the organization’s acting director. Himamauli "Him" Das, a national security expert with experience at the White House, National Security Council, National Economic Council, and Departments of State and the Treasury, will assume the role of acting director of FinCEN. FinCEN also announced that the Treasury launched a public search for a permanent FinCEN director.

On 7/15/2021, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) announced it will hold an event in August 2021 with representatives from financial institutions, other key industry stakeholders, and federal government agencies to discuss ongoing concerns regarding ransomware, as well as efforts by the public and private sectors. In their release, FinCEN explained that this event will build upon their November 2020 event on ransomware. FinCEN anticipates that this event, being referenced as a “FinCEN Exchange”, will assist its government and private sector partners to inform next steps to address ransomware and focus resources to mitigate the threat. This announcement is part of a whole-of-government effort to combat ransomware.

On July 1, 2021, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued a news release to announce updates to the FATF list of jurisdictions with strategic anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism and counter-proliferation financing deficiencies. As updates to the FATF list were previously issued as advisories, FinCEN explained that this news release should be treated the same way as prior advisories - implying that future updates to the FATF list will continue to come as news releases rather than advisories.

On 6/30/2021, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued a set of government-wide priorities for anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism policy. The Priorities identify and describe the most significant AML/CFT threats currently facing the United States and include: corruption, cybercrime, domestic and international terrorist financing, fraud, transnational criminal organizations, drug trafficking organizations, human trafficking and human smuggling, and proliferation financing. FinCEN also issued two statements to provide guidance to covered institutions on how to approach the Priorities.

on 6/21/2021, the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) announced additional updates to four more sections of their BSA/AML Examination Manual. The long-time Exam Manual provides instructions to examiners for assessing the adequacy of a bank’s or credit union’s BSA/AML compliance program and its compliance with BSA regulatory requirements. The new updates to the Exam Manual are the second round in 2021 and the third round of updates since January 2020. These updates mark the regulators quest for updating the majority of the Exam Manual, though they have repeatedly stated that all updates should not be interpreted as new instructions or increased focus on certain areas.

On 4/29/2021, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) announced the renewal of a set of Geographic Targeting Orders (GTOs) that have been renewed several times now, the last renewal being in November 2020. These GTOs require U.S. title insurance companies to identify the natural persons behind shell companies used in all-cash purchases of residential real estate and only apply to title companies in certain metropolitan areas. The purchase amount threshold remains $300,000 for each covered metropolitan area.

On 4/9/2021, the federal banking agencies, along with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and the NCUA, issued a joint statement addressing “how risk management principles described in the ‘Supervisory Guidance on Model Risk Management’ relate to systems or models used by banks to assist in complying with the requirements of Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) laws and regulations.” In addition, the agencies also announced a request for information (RFI) on the extent to which the principles discussed in the guidance support compliance by banks and credit unions with BSA/AML and Office of Foreign Assets Control requirements