BSA is all about helping our government thwart money laundering and terrorist financing. Whether your BSA “department” is made up of one person or many people, it is a very important piece of your financial institution’s compliance efforts. Frontline employees, including lenders, are crucial in helping to identify suspicious activity. Lenders are in a unique position in that they have the ability to talk to applicants, ask questions, review their financial information, etc., and really know their customer. If something doesn’t seem right, lenders should ask more questions or forward the information to the BSA officer. It may well be something that needs to be investigated further. The good news is, you are just looking for suspicious activity, you don’t have to be the one to crack the case.
Kevin explains more in the video.