After our most recent safety & soundness exam, we removed all Phase II exemptions. That being said, I still need to rewrite the Bank's policy and procedure to exempt customers. Does anyone have one to share? Or perhaps a detailed checklist? I cannot find anything with more "meat" than those that pretty much match our current process, which was deemed not to have enough "depth".

Thanks in advance,
The One Who Hates BSA the MOST

How about - "we do not grant Phase II exemptions".

As the old saying goes - once burnt - twice shy.

Short and sweet and totally eliminates your risk.

Requirements for Phase II Exemption:
1. Verify that the business is not listed on any National Stock Exchange
2. Account has been open and active for a continuous 12 month period
3. Account is for a business or sole proprietor, not an individual’s personal account
4. The customer has at least 8 transactions in a six month period that qualify for a CTR filing (cash transaction over $10,000, if customer has more than one account the transactions may be aggregated)
5. The account is not for a designated high-risk business (see AML program for a current list)
a. The BSA Officer may make exceptions to the non-high-risk requirement on a case-by-case basis. The exception must be documented in the file.

See Brenda C's exemption review worksheet in Bankers Tools as a checklist for both reviewing and approving exemptions.

I'm firmly in the camp that says, "The bank does not issue Phase II exemptions from currency transaction reporting" is a perfectly adequate and acceptable policy. (If your bank does not make loans on deepwater ships your loan policy probably does not address how such a loan should be structured. It's probable that no one even expects your policy to say you don't make loans on deepwater ships if you don't do actually do it.)

"Policies" that merely recite the requirements of a regulation are not policies...