Comptroller of the Currency
Administrator of National Banks

The attached notices of proposed rulemaking were published in the Federal Register on
March 9, 2009.

The attached proposed rule would revise part 21 of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency’s (OCC’s) regulations that implement the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) governing the confidentiality of a suspicious activity report (SAR) to:  (1) clarify the scope of the statutory prohibition on the disclosure by a financial institution of a SAR; (2) address the statutory prohibition on the disclosure by the government of a SAR as that prohibition applies to the OCC’s standards governing the disclosure of SARs; (3) clarify that the exclusive standard applicable to the disclosure of a SAR, or any information that would reveal the existence of a SAR, by the OCC is “to fulfill official duties consistent with the purposes of the BSA;” and (4) modify the safe harbor provision in its rules to include changes made by the USA PATRIOT Act.  The proposed amendments to part 21 are based upon a similar proposal issued simultaneously by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN).     

In addition, the OCC is proposing to revise its regulations governing the release of non-public OCC information.  The proposal clarifies that the OCC’s decision to release a SAR would be governed by the standards set forth in the proposed amendments to part 21 of the OCC’s rules.

A copy of the proposals can be obtained at the Web site addresses noted below.  The comment period for this proposal ends on June 8, 2009.

For questions concerning these proposed rules, contact Patrick T. Tierney, Senior Attorney, or Rebecca Smith, Attorney, Legislative and Regulatory Activities Division at (202) 874-5090.