Federal Regulators To Host Workshop On Border Banking Challenges
Federal bank regulators have scheduled a workshop on border banking challenges in Nogales, Ariz. next month. The workshop comes amidst growing concerns by Arizona border businesses about access to banking services.
Banking on the border has been complicated in recent years by the threat of money laundering from organized crime groups in Mexico.
KJZZ's Fronteras Desk and NPR reported earlier this year that as banks try to comply with federal anti-money laundering regulations, some long-standing border businesses have lost their bank accounts. Plus several banks have pulled out of Arizona border towns.
The June 16 workshop will be hosted by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and attendance is by invitation only.
The workshop will cover “banking relationships with cross border activities and the resulting regulatory expectations, including Bank Secrecy Act/Anti-Money Laundering customer due diligence and monitoring requirements,” according to an invitation sent by Paul Hickman of the Arizona Bankers Association.
“I think it is a good thing that they are doing this and I think they want to be part of the solution,” Hickman said of the FDIC in an interview.
The FDIC held another meeting of this kind in Nogales in March. The agency insures deposits and also supervises some state-chartered banks. The Office of the Comptroller of Currency, which regulates national banks, is also scheduled to participate in the June workshop.
“I am pleased the FDIC is engaging with Arizona banks and businesses to strive for a balance between appropriately implementing anti-money-laundering laws and letting banks serve the economic needs of the community,” said Arizona Senator Jeff Flake in a statement.
In February, Senators Flake and John McCain requested a senate committee hearing on access to banking services on the border. No date has been scheduled so far.
