Highlights: 

• On February 17, 2006, FinCEN and the federal bank, thrift and credit union regulatory agencies issued the attached notice and request for comments in the Federal Register on proposed changes to the SAR form that is used by depository institutions. The SAR form is being revised and reformatted to standardize it with SARs used by financial institutions in other industries. 
• The SAR form is also being revised to provide the necessary data items and instructions to complete a SAR jointly filed with another depository institution. 
• Joint filing is limited to suspicious activities that do not involve insider abuse. 
• Once finalized, the new form will be required for suspicious activities that are reported after December 31, 2006. 
• Contact information is provided for each of the regulatory agencies – the FDIC, the Federal Reserve Board, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Office of Thrift Supervision and the National Credit Union Administration. 
• Comments should be received by the agencies by April 18, 2006. 
• Please distribute this information to the appropriate personnel in your institution. 

Distribution: 
FDIC-Supervised Banks (Commercial and Savings) 

Suggested Routing: 
Chief Executive Officer 
BSA Compliance Officer 
Security Officer 

Note: 
FDIC Financial Institution Letters (FILs) may be accessed from the FDIC's Web site at www.fdic.gov/news/financial-institution-letters/2006/index.html . 

To receive FILs electronically, please visit http://www.fdic.gov/about/subscriptions/fil.html . 

Paper copies of FDIC FILs may be obtained through the FDIC's Public Information Center, 801 17th Street, NW, Room 100, Washington, DC 20434 (1-877-275-3342 or 703-562-2200).