Bank Secrecy Act Law and Legal Definition
The Banhk Secrecy Act (BSA) consists of two parts; Title I Financial Recordkeeping and Title II Reports of Currency and Foreign Transactions. Title I authorized the Secretary of the Treasury to issue regulations which require insured financial institutions to maintain certain records.
Title II directed Treasury to prescribe regulations governing the reporting of certain transactions by and through financial institutions in excess of $10,000 into, out of, and within the United States.
A financial institution within the United States generally must file a Currency Transaction Report (CTR) Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Form 4789, for each transaction in currency over $10,000. Multiple currency transactions shall be treated as a single transaction if the financial institution has knowledge that they are by or on behalf of any person and result in either cash in or cash out totaling more than $10,000 during any one business day. In certain cases, transactions spread over a number of days may also constitute a reportable transaction. Current statutes should be consulted for amendments and applicable exemptions.
