# 2025-09162: Treasury Renews Rules Against Foreign Shell Banks, No Changes Planned 2025-09162, Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Renewal; Comment Request; Renewal Without Change of Prohibition on Correspondent Accounts for Foreign Shell Banks; Records Concerning Owners of Foreign Banks and Agents for Service of Legal Process, is a Federal Register notice from Treasury Department, Financial Crimes Enforcement Network published 2025-05-22, effective Written comments are welcome and must be received on or before July 21, 2025.; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-22). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2025-09162 - As of: 2026-10-22 - Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts. ## Facts - Document number: 2025-09162 - Title: Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Renewal; Comment Request; Renewal Without Change of Prohibition on Correspondent Accounts for Foreign Shell Banks; Records Concerning Owners of Foreign Banks and Agents for Service of Legal Process - Type: Notice - Agencies: Treasury Department; Financial Crimes Enforcement Network - Citation: 90 FR 21987 - Published: 2025-05-22 - Effective: Written comments are welcome and must be received on or before July 21, 2025. - Comments close: not stated - Significant: no - Touches household money: yes - Regulation identifier numbers: none - Last updated: 2026-10-22 ## In one line Treasury Renews Rules Against Foreign Shell Banks, No Changes Planned ## Summary FinCEN is renewing rules that stop U.S. banks from working with shady foreign shell banks and require them to keep records about who owns foreign banks and who can accept legal papers in the U.S. No changes are planned, but they want your feedback by July 21, 2025. This keeps financial crime in check without adding new costs or paperwork. ## Abstract As part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, FinCEN invites comments on the proposed renewal, without change, of certain existing information collection requirements found in Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) regulations applicable to certain covered financial institutions. Under these regulations, among other requirements, a covered financial institution is prohibited from establishing, maintaining, administering, or managing correspondent accounts in the United States for or on behalf of a foreign shell bank. The regulations require that a covered financial institution take reasonable steps to ensure that any correspondent account that it establishes, maintains, administers, or manages in the United States for a foreign bank is not used by the foreign bank to indirectly provide banking services to a foreign shell bank. The regulations also mandate that a covered financial institution that maintains a correspondent account in the United States for a foreign bank retain records in the United States identifying the owners of each such foreign bank whose shares are not publicly traded, unless the foreign bank files a Form FR-Y with the Federal Reserve Board identifying the current owners of the foreign bank, and the name and street address of a person who resides in the United States and is authorized, and has agreed to be an agent to accept service of legal process for records regarding each such correspondent account. This request for comments is made pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. ## Effects PRIA read - Ban on U.S. Correspondent Accounts for Foreign Shell Banks: cost, medium. Covered financial institutions are prohibited from establishing, maintaining, administering, or managing correspondent accounts in the United States for foreign shell banks (foreign banks without a physical presence in any country). Covered institutions must also take reasonable steps to ensure cor… - U.S. Recordkeeping of Foreign Bank Owners and Agent: cost, low. If a covered financial institution maintains a correspondent account in the United States for a foreign bank whose shares are not publicly traded, it must retain in the United States records identifying the foreign bank's owners (as defined) and the name and street address of a person in the United… - Three-Year Certification Safe Harbor: benefit, low. A covered financial institution is deemed in compliance with the certification requirements if it obtains a certification or recertification from the foreign bank at least once every three years. FinCEN provides an optional certification form that institutions may use. - Account Closure Timelines If Certification Missing: cost, medium. If a covered financial institution has not obtained required certification or documentation within 30 calendar days after account establishment, it must close the foreign bank's correspondent accounts within a commercially reasonable time and restrict new positions or transactions except those nece… - Five-Year Document Retention Requirement: cost, low. Covered financial institutions must retain any original document provided by a foreign bank, and the original or a copy of any document relied upon to comply with these rules, for at least five years after the date the institution no longer maintains any correspondent account for that foreign bank,… - Estimated Population and Compliance Burden: cost, medium. FinCEN estimates 12,637 covered financial institutions in scope, but expects about 104 institutions to maintain correspondent accounts for foreign banks and thus incur the recordkeeping obligations. FinCEN assigns estimated burden hours per activity: 20 hours to complete an initial certification, 5… ## Related documents - [2026-20430](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-20430): Requirements for Certain Transactions Involving Convertible Virtual Currency or Digital Assets; Withdrawal, 2026-10-06 - [2026-20429](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-20429): Proposal of Special Measure Regarding Convertible Virtual Currency Mixing, as a Class of Transactions of Primary Money Laundering Concern;…, 2026-10-06 - [2026-16576](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-16576): Beneficial Ownership Information Reporting Requirement Revision, 2026-08-14 - [2025-05199](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2025-05199): Beneficial Ownership Information Reporting Requirement Revision and Deadline Extension, 2025-03-26 - [2026-20371](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-20371): Proposal of Special Measure Prohibiting the Transmittal of Funds Regarding Transactions Involving the A7 Network's Sub-Agents, 2026-10-05 - [2026-18194](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2026-18194): Geographic Targeting Order Imposing Recordkeeping and Reporting Requirements on Certain Money Services Businesses Along the Southwest Border, 2026-09-04 ## Sources - [2025-09162 on federalregister.gov](https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/05/22/2025-09162/agency-information-collection-activities-proposed-renewal-comment-request-renewal-without-change-of) - [2025-09162 as published (PDF)](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2025-05-22/pdf/2025-09162.pdf) ## Related - [Previous: 2025-09160, Raw Honey From Argentina: Amended Final Results of Antidumping Duty Administrat…](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2025-09160) - [Next: 2025-09163, Dioctyl Terephthalate From Malaysia, Poland, Taiwan, and the Republic of Türkiy…](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2025-09163) - [All Federal Register documents](https://policyrisk.com/federal-register) Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/federal-register/2025-09162 (as of 2026-10-22).