WASHINGTON—During a Senate Banking hearing the leaders of four federal financial regulatory agencies—including NCUA—were asked how financial institutions might be affected following a report that the Trump administration may institute rules requiring people to prove they are U.S. citizens before opening a financial account.
As the CU Daily reported here, while all the details have not been released, including whether credit unions would be required to participate, the Trump administration is considering whether to require financial institutions to collect citizenship information from customers/members as part of a broader effort to curb illegal immigration, according to reporting by the Wall Street Journal reported.
The Journal said the proposal, under review primarily at the Treasury Department, could direct financial institutions to request new documentation — such as passports — from both new and existing customers seeking to open or maintain accounts in the United States.
The Witnesses
Testifying at the hearing were NCUA Chairman Kyle Hauptman, along with Michelle Bowman, chair for supervision with the Federal Reserve; Travis Hill, chairman of the FDIC, and Jonathan Gould, Comptroller of the Currency.
In response to a question posed to all four witnesses at the Senate hearing from Sen. Catherine Cortez Mastro (D-NV) over how any requirement that customers/members be required to provide a birth certificate and/or passport to open an account, NCUA Chairman Kyle Hauptman said credit unions comply with Know Your Customer (KYC) rules and would comply with any future executive orders from the White House or any laws passed by Congress.
‘Minor’ Burden
The OCC’s Gould said he believes any additional requirements such as seeing a birth certificate or passport would be a “minor” regulatory burden and that current practice shows there are alternatives available when such documentation may not be available.
The Fed’s Bowman and the FDIC’s Hill both said they believe financial institutions stand ready to implement any new procedures, with both also saying they were hesitant to comment further given that there is no proposal that is currently publicly available.
All four witnesses were asked whether they have heard any concerns from banks or credit unions over such a requirement, and all four said no.
