The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, prudential banking regulators, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau released advisories responding to President Donald Trump’s recent executive order on financial services policies related to immigration.
Agency/FinCEN Advisory: The FinCEN advisory—issued jointly with the FDIC and OCC—asks financial institutions to report suspicious activity connected to the unlawful employment of immigrants in the country illegally. The advisory:
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Includes 18 red flag indicators to help banks detect, prevent, and report suspicious activity connected to fraud schemes involving unlawful employment.
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Requests that banks use “FINANCIALINTEGRITY-2026-A002” in field 2 of suspicious activity reports.
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Encourages banks to report any tips or complaints about employers that knowingly employ or exploit unauthorized workers to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
CFPB Guidance: Separately, the CFPB issued guidance reminding creditors of their obligations under the Truth in Lending Act and Regulation Z to consider a borrower’s immigration status in determining their ability to repay before offering mortgages and certain open-end credit products. The guidance “emphasizes to creditors that these requirements may obligate consideration of a consumer’s immigration status, especially where removal from the United States may disrupt the consumer’s income.”
Background: The advisories follow last month’s release of Executive Order 14406, titled “Restoring Integrity to America’s Financial System,” which also directed the federal banking regulators to:
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Propose changes to Bank Secrecy Act regulations to strengthen customer due diligence requirements.
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Issue guidance on managing the credit risks of extending loans and financial services to immigrants without work authorization.
ICBA Advocacy: Ahead of the release of the EO, ICBA repeatedly called on the administration to avoid requiring community banks to collect citizenship information, including in meetings with Treasury Department and prudential regulatory officials and a recent letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and National Economic Council Director Kevin Hessett. In a news release following the release of the EO, ICBA noted the order recognizes community bank BSA requirements and reiterated the importance of avoiding information collection requirements.