NCUA News Release

USA PATRIOT Act Information Requests to be Reinstated

FinCEN Announces Revised Process for Credit Unions and Other Financial Institutions

February 11, 2003, Alexandria, Va. – The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) announced last week that it will be reinstating information requests associated with section 314(a) of the USA PATRIOT Act during the week of Feb. 17. The National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), as a primary federal regulator of financial institutions, worked with FinCEN to revise the 314(a) information request process to address a number of logistical issues and to develop additional guidance on the information request process.

Refer to FinCEN’s Feb. 6 press release (www.fincen.gov/pa_newsreleases.html) , and general instructions and frequently asked questions (www.fincen.gov/fi_infoappa.html) for details.

The National Credit Union Administration, governed by a three-member board appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate, is the independent federal agency that regulates, charters and supervises federal credit unions. NCUA, with the backing of the full faith and credit of the U.S. government, operates and manages the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund, insuring the deposits of more than 80 million account holders in all federal credit unions and the overwhelming majority of state-chartered credit unions.