Banking and Finance Law Daily Wrap Up, CRIMES AND OFFENSES—Banking agencies promote FinCEN fraud-sharing safe harbor guidance, (Jul 10, 2026)

By Charles A. Menke, J.D.

The guidance cites real-time sharing of video footage, Internet Protocol (IP) addresses, and fraud indicators, while reminding participants to maintain security and confidentiality procedures.

The Federal Reserve Board, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation have issued supervisory notifications highlighting Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) guidance on voluntary information sharing under Section 314(b) of the USA PATRIOT Act (SR-26-3; OCC Bulletin 2026-30; FIL 34-2026). The agencies described FinCEN’s guidance as a fraud-focused clarification of when financial institutions may share information under the liability safe harbor, and the FDIC encouraged participation as a way to share information, mitigate losses, and improve suspicious activity detection.

Section 314(b) gives financial institutions a safe harbor that offers protection from liability when they share information to improve identification and reporting of activity that may involve money laundering or terrorist activity. Under the program, participants may voluntarily share information about fraud, money laundering, terrorist financing, sanctions evasion, and other illicit criminal activity.

FinCEN’s recently updated guidance adds concrete examples for fraud-related sharing. It highlights participants’ ability to share information in real time and identifies examples such as video surveillance footage, cyber-related data including IP addresses, and fraud indicators, including, as the OCC summarized, newly added payees followed by large transfers, multiple accounts with similar identifying information, and login activity from geographically distant places (see Banking and Finance Law Daily, June 15, 2026).

According to the agencies, supervised institutions may use the program to detect suspected fraud and other illicit activity across institutions. Participation in FinCEN’s program allows financial institutions to share information with other program participants about fraud, money laundering, terrorist financing, sanctions evasion, and other illicit criminal activity. The FDIC said the program can help institutions identify repeat actors or financial schemes that move across institutions to evade detection, limiting information gaps in the financial system.

The Bank Policy Institute said in a released statement that the agencies’ guidance “will strengthen financial institutions’ ability to identify criminal activity and protect consumers.” The organization additionally “call[ed] on Congress to further expand safe harbors for fraud information sharing between banks and to establish safe harbors for information sharing across sectors.”

Companies: Bank Policy Institute

RegulatoryActivity: BankingOperations BankSecrecyAct ChecksElectronicTransfers CrimesOffenses FinTech IdentityTheft Privacy