Senate GOP Bill Would Raise BSA Reporting Thresholds and Tie Them to Inflation

Proposed legislation introduced in the U.S. Senate would increase dollar-thresholds triggering reporting requirements under the Bank Secrecy Act for the first time since 1970 and require periodic adjustments to account for inflation, Republican lawmakers said. 

The “Streamlining Transaction Reporting and Ensuring Anti-Money Laundering Improvements for a New Era Act”, or STREAMLINE Act, would raise the cash threshold for Currency Transaction Reports (CTRs) from $10,000 to $30,000. The dollar trigger for Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) would be raised to $10,000 in most instances, and $3,000 whenever a lower threshold is deemed necessary. 

The bill, which has the support of bank lobbying groups, would bring “much needed modernization” to the BSA, said Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott (R-SC) in a statement.

GOP co-sponsors include Sens. John Kennedy of Louisiana, Mike Crapo of Idaho, Mike Rounds of South Dakota, Bill Hagerty of Tennessee, Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming, Katie Britt of Alabama, Pete Ricketts of Nebraska, and Bernie Moreno of Ohio.

Read more at the Senate Banking Committee