Private Banking:
Information on Private Banking and Its Vulnerability to Money Laundering
GGD-98-19R: Published: Oct 30, 1997. Publicly Released: Nov 5, 1997.
Additional Materials:
- Full Report:
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Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed private banking activities in the United States and the vulnerability of such activities to money laundering, focusing on: (1) the nature and extent of private banking activities in the United States; (2) regulatory efforts to monitor private banking activities and ensure that these activities comply with the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA); (3) policies and procedures of banks to ensure that their private banking activities comply with BSA; (4) law enforcement perspectives on the vulnerability of international private banking activities to money laundering; and (5) U.S. regulators' efforts to oversee the offshore private banking activities of banks located in the United States.
GAO noted that: (1) there is no generally accepted definition of the products and services that make up private banking or who constitutes it clients; (2) as a result, it is difficult to measure the extent of private banking with any precision; (3) a 1996 overview of private banking issued by an industry publication provided information on 35 institutions surveyed with reported private banking assets ranging from $197 million to $300 billion; (4) the Federal Reserve, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) are to review BSA compliance of the private banking activities as part of their overall BSA examinations of banks under their supervision; (5) in addition to these overall BSA examinations, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York recently undertook a focused review of private banking activities in its district, including a review of banks' anti-money-laundering programs and know-your-customer policies; (6) all of the 11 banks GAO visited told GAO that they had formal programs intended to ensure their compliance with BSA; (7) these programs included such policies and procedures as identifying and reporting suspicious transactions and know-your-customer programs; (8) some bank officials GAO contacted expressed concern about regulatory oversight of know-your-customer policies, noting that the lack of a formal regulation about such policies may contribute to inconsistencies in how the regulators review the area; (9) law enforcement views on the vulnerability of international private banking to money laundering varied; and (10) some law enforcement officials indicated that private banking was no more vulnerable than any other banking area, while others stated that certain characteristics of private banking make the area more susceptible to money laundering.
Dec 16, 2020
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Financial Stability:
Agencies Have Not Found Leveraged Lending to Significantly Threaten Stability but Remain Cautious Amid PandemicGAO-21-167: Published: Dec 16, 2020. Publicly Released: Dec 16, 2020.
Dec 10, 2020
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Federal Reserve Lending Programs:
Use of CARES Act-Supported Programs Has Been Limited and Flow of Credit Has Generally ImprovedGAO-21-180: Published: Dec 10, 2020. Publicly Released: Dec 10, 2020. -
Financial Assistance:
Lessons Learned from CARES Act Loan Program for Aviation and Other Eligible BusinessesGAO-21-198: Published: Dec 10, 2020. Publicly Released: Dec 10, 2020.
Sep 22, 2020
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Anti-Money Laundering:
Opportunities Exist to Increase Law Enforcement Use of Bank Secrecy Act Reports, and Banks' Costs to Comply with the Act VariedGAO-20-574: Published: Sep 22, 2020. Publicly Released: Sep 22, 2020.
Sep 4, 2020
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Bank Supervision:
FDIC Could Better Address Regulatory Capture RisksGAO-20-519: Published: Sep 4, 2020. Publicly Released: Sep 4, 2020.
Jul 21, 2020
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Financial Company Bankruptcies:
Congress and Regulators Have Updated Resolution Planning RequirementsGAO-20-608R: Published: Jul 21, 2020. Publicly Released: Jul 21, 2020.
Jul 6, 2020
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Public Companies:
Disclosure of Environmental, Social, and Governance Factors and Options to Enhance ThemGAO-20-530: Published: Jul 2, 2020. Publicly Released: Jul 6, 2020.
Apr 30, 2020
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Priority Open Recommendations:
Department of the TreasuryGAO-20-549PR: Published: Apr 23, 2020. Publicly Released: Apr 30, 2020.
Apr 27, 2020
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Priority Open Recommendations:
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve SystemGAO-20-499PR: Published: Apr 20, 2020. Publicly Released: Apr 27, 2020. -
Priority Open Recommendations:
Federal Deposit Insurance CorporationGAO-20-498PR: Published: Apr 20, 2020. Publicly Released: Apr 27, 2020.
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