DCUC Supports STREAMLINE Act

Jason Stverak

​On Tuesday, October 21, the Defense Credit Union Council (DCUC) sent a letter to Senator Tim Scott and Senator John Kennedy commending their leadership on the Streamlining Transaction Reporting and Ensuring Anti-Money Laundering Improvements for a New Era Act (STREAMLINE Act).
 
DCUC shared its support for this “much-needed legislation,” highlighting the proposed modernization of the Bank Secrecy Act’s reporting thresholds for Currency Transaction Reports (CTRs) and Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs).
 
“This bill’s commonsense reforms will reduce outdated regulatory burdens while preserving essential anti-money laundering safeguards, ultimately allowing credit unions to better serve servicemembers and their communities,” wrote DCUC Chief Advocacy Officer Jason Stverak.
 
The letter highlighted that thresholds for these reports have not been updated since the 1970s and the 1990s, respectively, leaving them significantly out of date after decades of inflation. Low thresholds mean financial institutions are responsible for reporting transactions well below the intended level with 20.5 million CTRs filed in 2022 alone.
 
Moreover, the high number of reports has not led to a corresponding number of law enforcement actions. In 2023 fewer than 3% of CTRs from the past decade were reviewed by authorities. DCUC expressed its concern that the volume of reports makes it harder for authorities to identify genuine illicit activity.
 
The STREAMLINE Act helps to cut unnecessary reporting by conservatively increasing the thresholds and indexing them to inflation, adjusting every five years.
 
DCUC noted this would assist community banks and credit unions that are strained for time and resources while maintaining safeguards that allow law enforcement to focus on suspicious or unusual activity.
 
“Each report consumes staff time and resources that could be better spent on serving members or strengthening anti-fraud programs. By updating the thresholds to more sensible levels, S. 3017 will allow these credit unions to devote more resources to their members’ needs while still focusing on truly suspicious activities,” wrote Stverak.

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