Skip Header

Federal Deposit
Insurance Corporation

Each depositor insured to at least $250,000 per insured bank



Home > Regulation & Examinations > Laws & Regulations > FDIC Federal Register Citations




FDIC Federal Register Citations

From: Executive Services 
Sent: Thursday, September 05, 2002 3:39 PM
To: Comments

Subject: Executive Secretary, attn: Comments/OES

September 5, 2002

FDIC
Executive Secretary
Attn: Comments/OES, FDIC

Attn: Section 326 Bank Rule Comments

We are a $235 million bank with 3 offices, all in small communities.

Currently, our identification procedures for consumer accounts involve obtaining a valid government issued photo ID on all signatories for an account. The information obtained from the ID is recorded, but a copy is not retained. We obtain a physical as well as a mailing address from all individuals signing on an account. We also obtain tax ID numbers for all account holders that are U.S. residents. Our current procedures for opening consumer as well as business accounts include checking the OFAC list for any possible matches.

Business accounts require the presentation of legal documentation that establishes the existence of the business and a resolution if applicable. We are concerned with customer resistance to the identification requirements as it relates to commercial accounts. It would be extremely helpful if the public notice we are required to post contains standard language regarding why and who is actually requiring the information.

The USA Patriot Act states that the regulations become effective October 25 of this year. The proposal was not published until late July. It appears that the final ruling will be published very close to October 25.

The time period in which we will be required to write new procedures, make changes to current policies, determine how to store the excess information, and have everything approved by our board of directors will be very limited. It is imperative that we be given more time to become compliant with the final regulation.

The proposal contains language that states “that each bank must have risk-based procedures for verifying the identity of a customer” and “the CIP must contain risk-based procedures for verifying the information that the bank obtains….within a reasonable period of time after the account is opened”. Clarification and guidance as to what kind of “risk-based procedures” and what a “reasonable period of time” would be appreciated.

Section 103.121(b)(4) relates to comparing names to government lists. This section is very vague and does not provide any guidance as to whether or not an account should be opened if a name is determined to be on a list or to the types of lists we should use for comparison.

I appreciate your time and attention.

Sincerely,
Twana Billeaudeau
Asst. Vice President
The Bank and Trust, s.s.b.
Del Rio, Texas

Last Updated 09/06/2002 regs@fdic.gov

Skip Footer back to content