ALEXANDRIA, Va.―Following last week’s announcement by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) of new regulatory relief around the Bank Secrecy Act’s Customer Due Diligence regulation, NCUA is offering additional clarification for credit unions.
As the CU Daily reported here, on Feb. 13 FinCEN issued an Exceptive Order that removed the regulatory requirement for credit unions to identify and verify information for business customers each time the business customer/member opens a new account.
NCUA said that pursuant to FinCEN’s order, credit unions may limit identification and verification of these customers to the following circumstances:
- When a legal entity customer/member (business) first opens an account
- Any time afterwards when the financial institution has knowledge of facts that would reasonably call into question the reliability of beneficial ownership information previously obtained
- As needed based on the financial institution’s own risk-based procedures for conducting ongoing due diligence.
Optional for Credit Unions
“This exceptive relief is optional, and credit unions are not required to use it,” the agency said in a statement. “Credit unions must continue to comply with all anti-money laundering/countering the financing of terrorism requirements under the Bank Secrecy Act and its implementing regulations.”
For additional info, go to FinCEN’s Announcement on Exceptive Relief for Customer Due Diligence. NCUA said questions should be directed to www.fincen.gov/contact, or CUs should contact their examiner.
Clean Audit
Separately, NCUA’s four funds again earned unmodified, or “clean,” audit opinions for 2025, according to audited financial statements released by the agency’s Office of Inspector General.
The audited financial statements, including the independent auditors’ reports, are available on NCUA.gov.
According to the agency, the financial statements, audited by the independent auditor KPMG LLP, cover the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund, the agency’s Operating Fund, the Central Liquidity Facility, and the Community Development Revolving Loan Fund.
The Share Insurance Fund held assets of $24.1 billion on Dec. 31, 2025, at which time it protected the deposits of more than 144 million members at more than 4,298 federally insured credit unions.
