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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 13 / Friday, January 22, 2021 / Proposed Rules
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savings association has a novel SAR
filing proposal that does not squarely fit within the regulatory requirements but would nonetheless be beneficial from an anti-money laundering regulatory and safety and soundness perspective. As financial technology and innovation continue to develop in the area of monitoring and reporting financial crime and terrorist financing, the OCC
will need the express regulatory flexibility to grant exemptive relief when appropriate in this area on a consistent basis. In 2018 the OCC, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, FinCEN, and the National Credit Union Administration issued a statement encouraging banks to take innovative approaches to meet their BSA/anti-money laundering BSA/AML
compliance obligations.11 That statement explained that banks are encouraged to consider, evaluate, and, where appropriate, responsibly implement innovative approaches in this area. Today, innovative approaches and technological developments in the areas of SAR monitoring, investigation, and filings may involve, among other things: i Automated form population using natural language processing, transaction data, and customer due diligence information; ii automated or limited investigation processes depending on the complexity and risk of a particular transaction and appropriate safeguards; and iii enhanced monitoring processes using more and better data, optical scanning, artificial intelligence, or machine learning capabilities. Requests for exemptive relief pertaining to innovation or other matters may involve, among other things, expanded investigations and SAR timing issues, SAR disclosures and sharing, continued SAR filings for ongoing activity, outsourcing of SAR
processes, the role of agents of national banks and federal savings associations, the use of shared utilities and shared data, and the use and sharing of deidentified data. OCC expects that new technologies will continue to prompt additional innovative approaches related to SAR filing and monitoring.
III. The Proposal The proposed rule would allow the OCC to issue exemptions from the requirements of its SAR regulations.
Specifically, the proposed rule would add a provision to 12 CFR 21.11 and 12
CFR 163.180 that would provide that 11 Joint Statement on Innovative Efforts to Combat Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Dec. 3, 2018, available at https www.occ.gov/newsissuances/news-releases/2018/nr-occ-2018130a.pdf.

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the OCC may exempt a national bank or federal savings association from the requirements of those sections.
As discussed above, the OCCs SAR
regulations contains some requirements that are not included in FinCENs SAR
regulation. For exemption requests involving these OCC additional SAR
requirements, a national bank or federal savings association would only need to seek an exemption from the OCC. The OCC believes that the proposed process is consistent with the purposes of the BSA and with safe and sound banking.
For exemption requests from the requirements of the OCCs SAR
regulations that would also require an exemption from FinCENs SAR
regulation, for example, exemption requests related to SAR filings required by 12 CFR 21.11c4, or related to SAR
timing requirements in 12 CFR 21.11d, or related to SAR confidentiality in 12
CFR 21.11k, a national bank would need to seek an exemption from both the OCC and FinCEN.
Under the proposed rule, a national bank requesting an exemption from the requirements of 12 CFR 21.11, including exemptions related to SAR filings solely required by paragraphs c1 through 3, must submit a request in writing to the OCC. In reviewing such requests, the OCC would consider whether the exemption is consistent with safe and sound banking, and any other appropriate factors, such as any outstanding supervisory concerns related to BSA/AML, including informal and formal enforcement actions.
A national bank or federal savings association requesting an exemption from the requirements of the OCCs SAR
regulations that would also require an exemption from FinCENs SAR
regulation, for example, an exemption request related to SAR filings under 12
CFR 21.11c4 for national banks, would have to submit a request in writing to both the OCC and to FinCEN
for approval. Upon receiving a written request from a national bank or federal savings association, the OCC would consider whether the exemption is consistent with the purposes of the Bank Secrecy Act, with safe and sound banking, and any other appropriate factors, such as any outstanding supervisory concerns related to BSA/
AML, including informal and formal enforcement actions. With respect to requests for exemption from the requirements of the OCCs SAR
regulations that would also require an exemption from FinCENs SAR
regulation, the requestor would have to obtain exemptions from both agencies.
The OCC also may notify the other federal banking agencies and consider
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their comments before granting any exemption. Such exemptions may be conditional or unconditional, may apply to particular persons or to classes of persons, and may apply to transactions or classes of transactions. In addition, the proposed rule provides that the OCC
may grant an exemption for a specified time period.
Under the proposed rule, the OCC
could also revoke previously granted exemptions if circumstances change related to the factors set out above e.g., consistency with the BSA and safety and soundness or any imposed conditions. The OCC invites comments on the proposed rule, including whether any additional detail relating to the procedures that would be followed in considering, granting, or revoking exemptions is necessary. The OCC
welcomes comments on any aspect of the proposed rule, in particular, with regard to whether additional or different factors or standards should be applied in the determination whether to grant an exemption request, as well as the form and manner of the OCCs response to an exemption request.
IV. Administrative Law Matters A. Solicitation of Comments and Use of Plain Language Section 722 of the Gramm-LeachBliley Act 12 requires the federal banking agencies to use plain language in all proposed and final rules published after January 1, 2000. The OCC has sought to present the proposed rule in a simple and straightforward manner, and invite comment on the use of plain language. For example:
Has the OCC organized the material to suit your needs? If not, how could the OCC present the proposed rule more clearly?
Are the requirements in the proposed rule clearly stated? If not, how could the proposed rule be more clearly stated?
Do the regulations contain technical language or jargon that is not clear? If so, which language requires clarification?
Would a different format grouping and order of sections, use of headings, paragraphing make the regulation easier to understand? If so, what changes would achieve that?
Would more, but shorter, sections be better? If so, which sections should be changed?
What other changes can the OCC
incorporate to make the regulation easier to understand?
12 Public Law 106102, sec. 722, 113 Stat. 1338, 1471 1999.

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