I work for a community bank that has a bank and a mortgage company. The BSA Officer for the bank wants BSA training for everyone in the company down to the janitor. The Mortgage Company President really only wants training for those specific functions affected by BSA/AML. I've always assumed that what the BSA Officer says is the direction I follow but am being asked to go to the regulation, find the specific section related to training, and act as a mediator between the two. Actual Question: What part of the regulation or the guidance will I find this? Looked in Alphabet Soup but couldn't find. Any help is appreciated.

This was all I could find from the FDIC... hopefully others will chime in if they have more relevant information:


Subpart B—Procedures for Monitoring Bank Secrecy Act Compliance

§ 326.8 Bank Secrecy Act compliance.

(a) Purpose. This subpart is issued to assure that all insured nonmember banks as defined in 12 CFR 326.1 establish and maintain procedures reasonably designed to assure and monitor their compliance with the requirements of subchapter II of chapter 53 of title 31, United States Code, and the implementing regulations promulgated thereunder by the Department of Treasury at 31 CFR Chapter X.

(b) Compliance procedures--(1) Program requirement. Each bank shall develop and provide for the continued administration of a program reasonably designed to assure and monitor compliance with recordkeeping and reporting requirements set forth in subchapter II of chapter 53 of title 31, United States Code, and the implementing regulations issued by the Department of Treasury at 31 CFR Chapter X. The compliance program shall be written, approved by the bank's board of directors, and noted in the minutes.

(2) Customer identification program. Each bank is subject to the requirements of 31 U.S.C. 5318(l) and the implementing regulation jointly promulgated by the FDIC and the Department of the Treasury at 31 CFR 1020.220.

(c) Contents of compliance program.The compliance program shall, at a minimum:

(1) Provide for a system of internal controls to assure ongoing compliance;

(2) Provide for independent testing for compliance to be conducted by bank personnel or by an outside party;

(3) Designate an individual or individuals responsible for coordinating and monitoring day-to-day compliance; and

(4) Provide training for appropriate personnel.

Emphasis mine. Looks like they leave it pretty open for interpretation. I wonder if the exam manual has anything?

From the exam manual:

Training

Banks must ensure that appropriate personnel are trained in applicable aspects of the BSA. Training should include regulatory requirements and the bank’s internal BSA/AML policies, procedures, and processes. At a minimum, the bank’s training program must provide training for all personnel whose duties require knowledge of the BSA. The training should be tailored to the person’s specific responsibilities. In addition, an overview of the BSA/AML requirements typically should be given to new staff during employee orientation. Training should encompass information related to applicable business lines, such as trust services, international, and private banking. The BSA compliance officer should receive periodic training that is relevant and appropriate given changes to regulatory requirements as well as the activities and overall BSA/AML risk profile of the bank.

The board of directors and senior management should be informed of changes and new developments in the BSA, its implementing regulations and directives, and the federal banking agencies’ regulations. While the board of directors may not require the same degree of training as banking operations personnel, they need to understand the importance of BSA/AML regulatory requirements, the ramifications of noncompliance, and the risks posed to the bank. Without a general understanding of the BSA, the board of directors cannot adequately provide BSA/AML oversight; approve BSA/AML policies, procedures, and processes; or provide sufficient BSA/AML resources.

Training should be ongoing and incorporate current developments and changes to the BSA and any related regulations. Changes to internal policies, procedures, processes, and monitoring systems should also be covered during training. The program should reinforce the importance that the board and senior management place on the bank’s compliance with the BSA and ensure that all employees understand their role in maintaining an effective BSA/AML compliance program.

Examples of money laundering activity and suspicious activity monitoring and reporting can and should be tailored to each individual audience. For example, training for tellers should focus on examples involving large currency transactions or other suspicious activities; training for the loan department should provide examples involving money laundering through lending arrangements.

Banks should document their training programs. Training and testing materials, the dates of training sessions, and attendance records should be maintained by the bank and be available for examiner review.

All of our bank employees are required to have BSA training of some sort. Mostly because all of our employees have the requirement to follow the BSA in their job descriptions.

What if you have a janitor who starts structuring & they have no idea what structuring is because you never trained them?

But a janitor also doesn't need to know how to complete a CTR. So basically I sit down with them and discuss their personal finances & that they are an employee of the bank and held to a higher standard.

A janitor could also see suspicious activity related to other employees .........