Subpoena disclosure

Our State banking examiners have asked to view copies of any subpoenas that have been received that are BSA related. This request seems to be outside of their limits and possibly a violation of Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure (since we would be a participant in the proceeding). Has anyone ever had any experience with this?

Thanks

I would think that this is within the scope of their BSA examination.

It is now part of BSA examination to review these to ensure that SARs are filed when needed. Your organization will also be expected to have policy or procedures in place and the one receiving subpoenas to keep a log for BSA officer to review to ensure all are passed on.

We are in the middle of an FDIC Safety and Soundness Exam and during the BSA portion we were questioned about subpoenas and whether we review them for BSA and consider filing SARs. We have a very comprehensive BSA program and have always fared well in this area. This is new for us that they are asking about this. They are making a recommendation that we review them for possible SAR filings. I think it makes sense and intend to put something in place.

We have a separate area that completes all of our subpoenas but when they are received a copy is forwarded to the BSA Department for review also. This way we ensure we are reviewing for any suspicious activity that we may not have caught with the the 22 reports we review and the automated software.
Nothing like being overly cautious when it comes to BSA!

To those that have had examiners request copies of subpoenas, did they also request copies of levies, judgments, etc? I know that the revised manual has the examiner ask to see subpoenas received by the bank, but was curious to see if the other items had been requested also. If the subpoenas should indicate suspicious activity, would the others not also?

We just finished our Safety and Soundness by the Fed and they did not ask for garnishments or levies, etc. The only subpoena's that they did ask to see were those related to a government subpoena.

We had FDIC in here in May. They asked to see the subpoenas (but no garnishments or levies) and we gave them to them, however they had no comments or questions to us about them.

Just an FYI - It is not our practice to perform "mini" reviews/audits based upon subpoenas alone, as we feel that suspicious activity would be identified through normal monitoring, and SARs reported as needed.

I think, Pinkie, that you might want to reconsider your stance on reactions when a subpoena is received. AmSouth dug itself a bit of a hole when it failed to file on activity that was uncovered after it received a subpoena.

Ideally, your normal monitoring would tip you to suspicious activity. But when your staff is poring over its records to pull up copies of transactions to comply with a subpoena, they might very well fall over activity that wasn't detected in a "normal" review. If that activity should have raised suspicions if it had been detected without the subpoena, I think you should file. If the information you turn up as a result of the subpoena doesn't look fishy to you, don't file. But document why you didn't.

Of course, in most cases, you would not be concerned with civil subpoenas (divorce, etc.). But if the stuff you turn up in a criminal investigation subpoena looks bad, you'd better file.

John, very good argument and very good point. I was just sharing my bank's policy on the subpoena issue. As our bank continues to grow and our level of risk increases, I know this is an area that will need to be revisited, and I have earmarked this thread for future use!! Thanks!

Just curious what other banks that do conduct reviews based on subpoenas, what typically is reviewed besides statement history and how much is do you look at?

We're a smaller bank so we don't receive very many subpoena's. When we do get them, I always ask "Why?" Who's asking for it and why? Most of ours are lawsuits between businesses and records are being requested for payment verification.

But every now and again, we'll get one that is government issued and it sets up a big ol' DING! That's when we REALLY scrutinize it. (Not to say we're not scrutinizing the others by any means but government ones are more iffy)

The scope of the review would depend upon the type of relationship we have with the customer. Generally we look at 3 months of deposit account activity, cash activity and monetary instrument records, etc. If the customer has a significant relationship with the bank we may have to look into brokerage and NDIP product relationships, business accounts over which they have authority, etc.

If the subpoena request sheds light on a specific period in time that is the interest of law enforcement, obviously we would review some or all of that time period.