FinCEN Exchange is a voluntary public-private information sharing partnership among FinCEN, law enforcement agencies, national security agencies, and financial institutions and other private sector entities to enhance coordination, communication, and feedback in the fight against financial crimes. The program serves as one of the critical feedback loops between the U.S. government and financial institutions, enhancing the two-way flow of information between the public and private sectors.

 

Goals

  • Support priority national security and counter-illicit finance strategic and/or tactical objectives
  • Enhance the utility of Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) information by strengthening public-private feedback loops
  • Promote innovation and technical advances in BSA information reporting
  • Enable industry to better prioritize and allocate compliance resources to areas of highest interest to the U.S. government

 

History

Launched by FinCEN on December 4, 2017, under statutory authority that existed at the time, the FinCEN Exchange program was designed to enable financial institutions to better identify and report information on the highest priority illicit finance risks to the U.S. financial system and national security. On January 1, 2021, Congress passed the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020 (the “AML Act”), providing FinCEN with an explicit statutory basis for establishment of the FinCEN Exchange program. Section 6103 of the AML Act, codified at 31 U.S.C. § 310(d), allows for the participation of both financial institutions and ”other relevant private sector entities” in the FinCEN Exchange program, includes provisions that address information sharing and the protection and use of shared information, and requires the submission of reports to Congress on the use and effectiveness of the FinCEN Exchange program.

 

How It Works

FinCEN Exchange is a confidential, event-based, invitation-only program. In consultation with law enforcement and other stakeholders, FinCEN identifies high priority topics and hosts issue-specific events that bring relevant financial institutions, other private sector entities, and government stakeholders together to examine related risks, threats, and potential approaches for disruption. Participants share information relevant to the focus of the event, whether on emerging trends and typologies or tactical, case-specific information.

 

Participation in a FinCEN Exchange Event

FinCEN may consider a range of factors in determining whether to invite financial institutions or other private sector entities to participate in an event. These include, but are not limited to, a private sector entity’s: line(s) of business, geographic footprint, participation in FinCEN’s section 314(b) information sharing program, and previous reporting by the entity on issues of interest. In some cases, law enforcement may specifically request participation by certain industry members.

Participation in a FinCEN Exchange event does not alter an entity’s regulatory obligations. Participation in a FinCEN Exchange event does not create additional recordkeeping requirements beyond those already required for financial institutions and non-financial trades or businesses under the BSA. Financial institutions may use information received in a FinCEN Exchange event in complying with any requirement under the BSA to identify and report suspicious activity.

FinCEN encourages government partners interested in participating in a FinCEN Exchange event to reach out to their liaison at FinCEN or to contact FinCEN at https://www.fincen.gov/contact.

 

Requirements Related to Information Sharing and the Protection and Use of Shared Information

Section 6103 of the AML Act states that sharing must comply with “all other applicable Federal laws and regulations” and be accomplished “in such a manner as to ensure the appropriate confidentiality of personal information.” The Right to Financial Privacy Act (RFPA) (12 U.S.C. § 3401, et seq.), which imposes restrictions on the voluntary disclosure to Federal agencies of information in a customer’s financial records, would continue to apply, as would the statute governing Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) (31 U.S.C. § 5318(g)) and implementing regulations, which generally prohibit a financial institution from disclosing a SAR or its existence to any person other than FinCEN, a Federal, State, or local law enforcement agency, or a Federal or State regulatory authority that examines the bank for compliance with the Bank Secrecy Act.

In addition, participants in a FinCEN Exchange event must adhere to any terms or conditions noted in FinCEN’s invitation, including any requirement of confidentiality. FinCEN generally requires participants to ensure that employees, contractors, or other agents with access to sensitive information not disclose the information to third parties and generally prohibits the use of any audio or visual recording devices. Failure to adhere to terms and conditions noted in FinCEN’s invitation may result in removal from the event or a decision not to invite the participant to future events.

Finally, section 6103 of the AML Act imposes restrictions on the use of information shared in a FinCEN Exchange event. Information received by financial institutions may not be used for any purpose other than identifying and reporting on activities that may involve the financing of terrorism, money laundering, proliferation financing, or other financial crimes. Information received by a private sector entity that is not a financial institution may not be used for any purpose other than assisting a financial institution in identifying and reporting on activities that may involve the financing of terrorism, money laundering, proliferation financing, or other financial crimes, or in assisting FinCEN or another Federal agency in mitigating the risk of the terrorist financing, money laundering, proliferation financing, or other criminal activities.

 

Recent FinCEN Exchange Events

View previous events in the FinCEN Newsroom.