FINAL_3133-0094_Supporting Statement_120716

SUPPORTING STATEMENT
National Credit Union Administration
Suspicious Activity Report by Depository Institutions
OMB No. 3133-0094
A.

JUSTIFICATION

1.

Circumstances Necessitating Collection of Information
In 1992, the Department of the Treasury (Treasury) was granted broad authority to
require suspicious transaction reporting under the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA). See 31
U.S.C. 5318(g). Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), which
has been delegated authority to administer the BSA, joined with the bank regulators 1 in
1996 in adopting and requiring reports of suspicious transactions on a consolidated
suspicious activity report (SARs) form. 2 This simplified the process through which
banks 3 inform their regulators and law enforcement about suspected criminal activity.
The SAR was updated in 1999, 2002, 2006, and 2009. In 2011, FinCEN transitioned
from industry specific paper forms to one electronically filed dynamic and interactive
BAS-SAR for use by all filing institutions. This e-filing portal became mandatory on
July 1, 2012. (http://bsaefiling.fincen.treas.gov/main.html)
Credit unions are required to retain a copy of the BSA-SAR filed and supporting
documentation for the filing of the BSA-SAR for five years. See 31 CFR 1020.320(d)
and 31 CFR 1010.430. These documents are necessary for criminal investigations and
prosecutions.

2.

Method of Collection and Use of Data.
Information about suspicious transactions conducted or attempted by, at, through, or
otherwise involving credit unions are collected through FinCEN’s BSA E-filing system
(http://bsaefiling.fincen.treas.gov/main.html) by credit unions. A SAR is to be filed no
later than 30 calendar days from the date of the initial detection of facts that may
constitute a basis for filing a SAR. If no suspect can be identified, the period for filing a
SAR is extended to 60 days.
FinCEN and law enforcement agencies use the information on BSA-SARs and the

1

The four federal functional institution supervisory agencies are the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve
System, the Federal Depository Insurance Corporation, the Office of the Comptroller Currency, and the National
Credit Union Administration.
2 See 12 CFR 208.62, 211.5(k), 211.24(f), and 225.4(f) (Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System); 12
CFR 353 (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation); 12 CFR 748 (National Credit Union Administration); 12 CFR
21.11 (Office of the Comptroller of the Currency); and 31 CFR 1020.320 (FinCEN).
3 Under the BSA, as implemented by 31 CFR 1010.100, the term “bank” includes each agent, agency, branch or
office within the United States of commercial banks, savings and loan associations, thrift institutions, credit unions,
and foreign banks.

OMB No. 3133-0094; December 2016

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supporting documentation retained by the banks for criminal investigation and
prosecution purposes.
3.

Use of Improved Information Technology to Reduce Burden.
The SAR system uses improved information technology to reduce burden on institutions.
Whereas institutions previously filed multiple copies of different forms with their
primary regulators, U.S. Attorneys’ offices, the FBI, and other law enforcement agencies,
as necessary, they are now able to file one, consolidated form online with FinCEN
through the BAS E-filing system. By offering on-line access to appropriate users,
FinCEN has eliminated the need for multiple filings. Because the various forms have
been consolidated into one, the information collected is easier to collate, analyze, and
use. FinCEN also provides improved access to the SAR database for law enforcement
and state and federal regulators.

4.

Efforts to Identify Duplication.
The required information is unique and is not duplicative of any other information
already collected.

5.

Methods to Minimize Burden on Small Businesses or Other Small Entities.
Not applicable. This collection does not have a significant impact on a substantial
number of small entities.

6.

Consequences of Less Frequent Collection on Federal Programs or Policy Activities.
With the automated SAR system, the bank regulators, law enforcement, and industry
benefit from improved detection of financial crime, analysis of trends, and coordination
of investigative efforts. The SAR requirement provides law enforcement and regulatory
agencies with the ability to fight financial crime and ensures the safety and soundness of
institutions.

7.

Special Circumstances Requiring Data Collection Inconsistent with Guidelines.
The reporting of suspicious activity on a BSA-SAR may occur more frequently than
quarterly, depending on the frequency of the activity. This information must be reported
in a timely manner to enable law enforcement to take appropriate investigative action.
Records must be kept for 5 years because substantive violations of the law that may be
indicated by the activity reported on the BSA-SAR are generally subject to statutes of
limitations longer than 3 years.
There are no other special circumstances. The collection of information is conduct in a
manner consistent with the guidelines of 5 CFR 1320.5(d)(2).

OMB No. 3133-0094; December 2016

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8.

Consultation with Individuals Outside of the Agency.

A 60-day notice was published in the Federal Register on September 23, 2016 at 81 FR
65674 soliciting comments from public on the renewal of this information collection.
NCUA received no comments on this collection.
9.

Payments or Gifts.
No payments or gifts are made to respondents.

10.

Assurance of Confidentiality of Responses.
Information provided to the government on BSA-SARs is expressly prohibited from
disclosure under 31 U.S.C. 5318(g)(2). Appropriate system security safeguards have
been put in place to protect against unauthorized access.

11.

Justification of Sensitive Questions.
No questions of a sensitive nature are asked; no personally identifiable information (PII)
is collected.

12.

Estimated Annual Hourly Burden.
The time spent by each credit union to file an SAR will vary, depending on the size and
type of institution involved and the number of reportable transactions. The NCUA
estimate that 5,887 credit unions will file approximately 77,972 SARs each year.
# of
Respondents/
Recordkeepers

Reporting
§748.1(c)(2)
Recordkeeping
§748.1(c)(3)

Annual
Response/
Records

Hours per
Response

Total Burden

5,887

77,972

1

77,972

5,887

5,887

1

5,887

TOTAL

83,857

83,859

Annual cost to respondent based on an hourly wage rate of $35 is $2,934,995.
13.

Estimated Capital Start-up and Maintenance costs.
There are no capital/start-up or ongoing operations and maintenance costs associated with
this information collection

14.

Estimated Annualized Cost to Federal Government.
No cost to the federal government.

OMB No. 3133-0094; December 2016

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15.

Reasons for change in Burden.
The increase in the number of responses is due to an increase in total filings of suspicious
activity by federally insured credit unions. The decrease in burden is due to adjustments
made to the reporting and recordkeeping burden to align with FinCEN requirements. A
total reduction of 51,215 burden hours are attributed to adjustments in the agency
estimate.

16.

Plans for Tabulation, Statistical Analysis and Publication.
There are no plans for publication.

17.

Request not to Display Expiration Date of OMB Control Number.
To avoid having to amend the electronic report to show a new date, FinCEN has
requested permission not to display the OMB expiration date on the FinCEN SAR report.

18.

Exceptions.
There are no exceptions to the certification statement.

B.

COLLETIONS OF INFORMATION EMPLOYING STATISTICAL METHODS
This collection does not employ statistical methods.

OMB No. 3133-0094; December 2016

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