Scenario 1

Customer requests to purchase an official check for $2,990.00. The FI charges a $10.00 fee. Customer presents the Teller with $3,000.00 in cash. Is a MIL required?

Scenario 2

Customer requests to purchase an official check for $2,500.00. The FI charges a $10.00 fee. Customer presents the Teller with $3,000.00 in cash and asks the Teller to deposit the remaining balance of $490.00 into his checking account. Is a MIL required?

Scenario 3

Customer presents the Teller with $12,000.00 in cash to fund the following three transactions:
1. Official check purchase in the amount of $5,000.00 (+ $10.00 fee).
2. Official check purchase in the amount of $3,000.00 (+ $10.00 fee).
3. Deposit to his checking account for the remaining balance of $3,980.00.

A CTR is completed for the multiple transactions. Is a MIL also required?

Scenario 1: Amount of cash involved is $3,000 or more, MIL required.

Scenario 2: Amount of cash involved in MI purchase is under $3,000, no MIL required.

Scenario 3: Not sure about this one. The MIL may not be required, but I would probably collect the purchaser information out of an abundance of caution (but that's just me), since the cash involved in each of the purchases is between $3,000 and $10,000. Hopefully a guru will opine.

For scenario 3, what should be reflected on the CTR under Line Item 25 a. Deposit(s) and d. Purchase of negotiable instrument(s)?

By MIL do you mean Monetary Instrument Log?

If so, there is no requirement to keep the information in a log. Rather you must follow the record keeping requirements and be able to identify the transactions. Regarding your third scenario, filing a CTR would require you to gather all of the information required already.

Since total cash in amounted to $12,000, I would put the $3,980 under 25a and $8,020 under 25d.

Agreed. No 'log' is actually required, just that the information be captured and maintained for the requisite period of time. When I first started here, they were actually still keeping a manual 'log' of all of those transactions.It was a very hard sell to convince them that since the electronic system allowed us to capture/store that information, we could produce reports as needed to satisfy auditors and examiners.

Just a question. How can $3,000 in cash be used to purchase a $2,990.00 cashier's check. You lost me on that one.

Randy, as I read it, the customer paid the $10.00 CC fee in cash as well so the total of the transaction was $3,000.00

The fee is the fee - it has nothing to do with the purchase of the monetary instrument.

That would be like saying if they bought a $10,000 cashier's check and paid a $10 fee it would fall outside of the record keeping requirements.

Well it would put the transaction on a CTR, and those of you with long memories will recall that the fact that cash purchases of MIs under $10,000 weren't being reported on CTRs but were considered easy tools for money laundering was one of the reasons for the creation of the recordkeeping requirement for these smaller cash purchases.

There was an old opinion or FAQ from FinCEN on whether or not you included the fee. I recall that you didn't. I need to see if I can find it.

If you do find it, I'll be glad that it could finally settle this difference of opinion. I don't like being on the opposite side of a question from you, Randy, even when it's a small-potatoes thing like this (since so many banks just record the info for all their monetary items).

This is the only guidance that I could find regarding the fee:

http://www.fincen.gov/statutes_regs/bsa/bsa_faqs.html

Question 14: Is a CTR required when a person presents a check, in excess of $10,000, for payment in cash at a financial institution and receives less than $10,000 after fees, or other deductions, are charged against the amount of the check?

Answer 14: Answer 14: The BSA only requires a CTR for a transaction in currency, such as a deposit, withdrawal, exchange or transfer of currency, in excess of $10,000. A transaction in currency involves the physical transfer of currency from one person to another. Accordingly, the transfer of currency below $10,000 would not trigger the CTR requirement, despite the amount of the check. For example, if a person cashed a check for $10,100 and received $9,990 after a service fee was charged against the amount of the check, the financial institution would not be required to file a CTR. On the other hand, if a person purchased a cashiers check for $9,990 and paid a service fee of $20 for a total of $10,010 in cash, the financial institution would be required to file a CTR. The key lies in the amount of the physical deposit, withdrawal, exchange or transfer of currency. (10/2001)

There is no argument over whether or not a CTR would be required. It would be no different than me coming in and buying a $8,000 MI with cash and also depositing $4,000 in cash into a checking account.

This is a very old FinCEN release that I am referring too.

Well, I can't find the ruling. But I did find this thread:

http://www.bankersonline.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=1795668

I found several other in which the posters called FinCEN and got the same answer.

I suggest anyone that disagrees, give them a call and report back what they tell you.

Well, since I accepted the "don't include the fee" response just over two years ago, it would have been nice if I had remembered that. I will acknowledge and accept it again now.