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FDIC Federal Register Citations Albany Bancorp
From: Linda Wilkerson To Whom It May Concern: Thank you for the opportunity to comment on regulatory burden relief, as published at 70FR5571. I am Vice President and Risk Management Manager for Albany Bancorp, Inc., Albany, KY 42602. I have been in banking since the 1970s and have seen many changes in the field of compliance. Our bank is a community bank. We strive to do the very best job possible to serve the community and its members. Often that attempt to serve is hampered by undue and unnecessary regulatory burden. Although that has been the case, increasingly, since the 1970s, it has become unmanageable since the September 11 terrorist attacks. While we understand the need to secure our country and its financial infrastructure, I question whether the regulations, as implemented and enforced, are accomplishing that goal. Specifically, I am concerned about the following: Bank Secrecy Act. Compliance with this act and its regulations is,
without doubt one of the most expensive and time consuming in the bank. That
is compounded by complex regulations, the lack of clear and consistent
guidance for bankers or examiners, the apparent ineffectiveness of the data
collected; and, sever penalties for unintentional or misunderstood
noncompliance. The regulations need to be streamlined and clarified.
Examiners should look to advise and assist institutions with compliance
rather than punish. But, before any amendments will be successful, the data
compilation must also be re-designed in such a way, and tested, to ensure
that law enforcement will and can utilize it. Otherwise, the regulatory
burden cannot be justified for the bank or the consumer. Money Service Business. While this crosses over to other areas of
comment made in this letter, it is worthy of separate comment. Bank should
not be expected to monitor the individual activities of each of its
customers, absent suspicious activity or statutory/regulatory mandates. The
recent examination efforts with regard to MSBs has proven that the response
will be that banks will no longer be willing to shoulder the potential risks
associated with customers who are potentially MSBs. The burden of reporting
should be placed on actual MSBs, not the bank. USA Patriot Act. Many of the comments for BSA above are equally
applicable to these requirements. There needs to be more clarification as to
acceptable and appropriate identification standards. In addition, those
standards must be consistent with the documentation and information
available and verifiable in the various states. Regulation D. The restrictions on transfers and the paying of
interest on certain deposit accounts are archaic. These restrictions should
be removed. Community Reinvestment Act. In todays world of mobility, existing CRA
requirements are no longer evaluative of the banks investment in and
participation with its actual community. Transactions and customer/community
support is becoming more creative as peoples needs are changing. The
problems of CRA compliance are compounded by the fact that so many other
providers of financial services, such as brokerages and credit unions are
not required to comply. If a CRA type of requirement is retained, it
should be modernized to address the changing needs of our industrys
communities. Again, Thanks you for this opportunity to comment. Sincerely,
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Last Updated 04/27/2005 | Regs@fdic.gov |