U.S. financial institutions may have to tailor compliance programs to account for the specific illicit finance-related risks they face and allocate their resources accordingly if a federal plan proposed last week takes effect. Harris Beach Partner Constantine Lizas spoke with Moneylaundering.com about the potential changes.

By making the national priorities a component of mandatory risk assessments, the proposed plan would require financial institutions to conduct risk assessments when the national priorities are updated by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN).

“Banks resistant to risk assessments are still going to be forced to do one even if their products and services don’t change,” Lizas said.

Read the full article here (subscription required).

Lizas is the former lead Bank Secrecy Act/Anti-Money Laundering (BSA/AML) Counsel for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp (FDIC). In his practice he advises financial services clients on BSA/AML, digital currency, and other banking regulatory issues before the federal banking agencies and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). Financial institutions seeking support with their anti-money laundering compliance efforts and these potential changes should reach out to Constantine at clizas@harrisbeachmurtha.com.