No, we are not aware of any law or regulation that requires banks to provide their employees with training on identifying and reporting human trafficking. Although the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) regulations require banks to establish a BSA compliance program that provides training for appropriate personnel, a course on human trafficking is not specifically required.

The FFIEC’s BSA/AML Manual provides that “[t]raining should cover the aspects of the BSA that are relevant to the bank and its risk profile” and should cover “BSA regulatory requirements, supervisory guidance, and the bank’s internal BSA/AML policies, procedures, and processes.” Additionally, training “should be tailored to each individual’s specific responsibilities” and “include examples of money laundering and suspicious activity monitoring and reporting that are tailored, as appropriate, to each operational area.” A bank’s training program materials also should address “[d]ifferent forms of [money laundering/terrorist financing] and other illicit financial activity risks as they relate to identification and examples of suspicious activity.”

Although the BSA does not specifically address human trafficking, FinCEN has issued guidance on identifying and reporting human trafficking. Consequently, if you believe such activity is relevant to your bank’s risk profile, you may wish to consider training your employees on this subject.

For resources related to our guidance, please see:

• FDIC BSA regulations, 12 CFR 326.8(c)(4) (Requires banks to “[p]rovide training for appropriate personnel.”)

• FFIEC BSA/AML Manual, BSA/AML Training (“Banks must provide training for appropriate personnel. Training should cover the aspects of the BSA that are relevant to the bank and its risk profile, and appropriate personnel includes those whose duties require knowledge or involve some aspect of BSA/AML compliance. Training should cover BSA regulatory requirements, supervisory guidance, and the bank’s internal BSA/AML policies, procedures, and processes. Training should be tailored to each individual’s specific responsibilities, as appropriate. . . . Training programs should include examples of money laundering and suspicious activity monitoring and reporting that are tailored, as appropriate, to each operational area.”)

• FFIEC BSA/AML Manual, BSA/AML Training Examination Procedures (“Determine whether the bank’s training program materials address: . . . Different forms of ML/TF and other illicit financial activity risks as they relate to identification and examples of suspicious activity.”)

• FinCEN Advisory FIN -2014-A008, Guidance on Recognizing Activity that May be Associated with Human Smuggling and Human Trafficking – Financial Red Flags (September 11, 2014)

• FinCEN Advisory FIN-2020-A008, Supplemental Advisory on Identifying and Reporting Human Trafficking and Related Activity (October 15, 2020)