While the political landscape is in flux, one thing remains constant regardless of changes in leadership at regulatory agencies: the importance of detecting and deterring financial crime before criminals cause irreparable harm to investors or leverage the financial system to further other illegal activity. Financial institutions are increasingly receiving large fines and penalties for failure to detect and report crimes or potential wrongdoing by others.

In an article published in the Financial Markets Association’s Market Solutions, NERA Director and former CFTC Commissioner and Acting Chairman Dr. Sharon Brown-Hruska discusses recent developments in the US Bank Secrecy Act (BSA)/Anti-Money Laundering (AML) regulatory landscape for securities and derivatives firms, including enforcement actions, new examination priorities announced by federal regulators, and potential impacts on firms’ compliance programs. She also analyzes the impact on securities and derivatives firms of rules and advisories released by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), the federal regulator and financial intelligence unit responsible for enforcing BSA/AML compliance by all types of financial institutions active within the United States.