A Direct Line Blog

By Donya Parrish, MCU VP Risk Management

It might sound strange, but I get excited to see news stories about people being arrested for fraud and money laundering. Not because I thrive on other people’s pain, but because I love to have real-life examples to include in the annual Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) training that I provide.

The topic can be a bit dry, especially for board and supervisory committee members, if you only talk about the regulatory requirements. Actual examples help provide a better understanding of illicit activities that are funded through financial institutions and add a bit of a “this does really happen” to the sessions. I even spent time “researching” (wink, wink) the Netflix series Ozark, and wow, it helped me a lot with understanding the cycle of money laundering!

If your board or supervisory committee are in need of training that focuses on your role in the credit union’s BSA program, you are in luck. We have a pre-recorded session for both that you can watch as a group or individually. You’ll find both the BSA for Directors and BSA for Supervisory Committee webinars on our Director Training Tools page (no password required), along with the handouts and any relevant resources.

If you prefer to have me talk to your group via Zoom or phone, let me know. I am happy to help with your annual BSA training and even happier to share a few of the scandalous stories I have found!