FinCEN Issues Joint Statement on Suspicious Activity Reports

The announcement focuses on confidentiality considerations when communicating with customers about potential fraud.

➡️ No new expectations: The statement explicitly notes that it does not alter existing Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) legal or regulatory requirements or establish new supervisory expectations; and

➡️ Customer communication permitted: The statement reaffirms banks may discuss potentially fraudulent transactions and other suspicious activity with customers without breaching SAR confidentiality requirements.

✅ Financial institutions (FIs) operating in the U.S. should review their customer communication protocols for fraud investigations and account closures to ensure staff understand that SAR confidentiality requirements do not prevent appropriate customer engagement and should align practice with the clarification set out in the joint statement.