Managing Security for Your Community Bank is Another Opportunity for Service

Money laundering and fraud can be a problem for any size of bank. However, reports show that community banks may become a target for money launderers because they may perceive that a smaller bank may allocate security resources in different ways than a larger bank.

They’re wrong. Criminals in today’s environment may be savvy, but community banks are, too.

Many Kansas community banks have rigorous security measures, and these may even be heightened by a closer relationship with customers and their activity. Community banks have the advantage of building more connections with customers, thus making them more alert to suspicious activity. This is reassuring to your customers and another reason you value your role in community banking. Many community banks also employ top-level data systems suited to the size of their bank, and these tools are constantly evolving.

Monitoring for the Bank Secrecy Act and anti-money laundering activity can be quite expensive, and some community banks take a different approach: eliminating the types of accounts or services that can be high risk. An annual risk assessment for Bank Secrecy Act/anti-money laundering activity can shed even more light on potentially risky accounts or services, allowing you to create a plan for mitigating those risks.

What can you look for? Here’s a quick reminder for your team:

• An account that has multiple payment vehicles within a single website, several areas of the website that are encrypted or password-protected, foreign-based hosting or cryptocurrency connections are all indicators that something may be amiss.
• A bank account where things simply don’t add up, such as an account with more than one tax ID number or insufficient information about the company or its owners.
• Business activity that seems unusual for the type of business it is, whether it’s the size or timing of the transactions.

If an employee suspects unusual activity, they can file a suspicious activity report.

Security is a major concern for any size bank, and the CBA of Kansas team is right there alongside you with resources to help. In fact, our compliance training and webinars throughout the year can help you understand ever-changing security regulations. Give us a call today to talk more about this key issue.