Supreme Courts Reconsideration of Auer Deference May Undermine FFIEC Manual

Expired

Program Number

29202

Program Date

2019-12-05

CLE Credits

Regulations governing BSA/AML compliance are often ambiguous, leading to disagreements with regulators about whether financial institutions are in compliance with those regulations. Federal and state banking regulators frequently cite to the FFIECs Bank Secrecy Act/Anti-Money Laundering Examination Manual (â€œFFIEC Manual) to support their view that financial institutions are not in compliance with applicable BSA/AML regulations. This program will provide an overview of the FFIEC Manuals historical usage as an authority on BSA/AML compliance by banking regulators and the courts. Using the Supreme Courts recent decision in Kisor v. Wilkie as a starting point, this program will then discuss whether it is appropriate for banking regulators and the courts to look to the FFIEC Manual as an authority on the meaning of ambiguous BSA/AML regulations. The new test for deference to agency interpretations of ambiguous regulations set forth in Kisor will be discussed, as will the practical implications of the Supreme Courts decision for banks and banking attorneys who are dealing with regulators assertions of apparent violations of ambiguous regulations.