Which transactions are affected by the Ban Secrecy Act (BSA)?
Currency Transaction Report (CTR) Cash transactions in excess of $10,000 during the same business day. The amount over $10,000 can be either from one transaction or a combination of cash transactions. Filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Monetary Instrument Log (MIL) Cash purchases of monetary instruments, such as money orders, cashier’s checks and travelers checks, totaling from $3,000 to $10,000, inclusive. This form is required to be kept on record at the financial institution, and produced at the request of examiners or audit to verify compliance. A financial institution must maintain a Monetary Instrument Log for 5 years. Suspicious Activity Report (SAR) Any cash transaction where the customer seems to be trying to avoid BSA reporting requirements (e.g., CTR, MIL). A SAR must also be filed if the customer’s actions indicate that s/he is laundering money or otherwise violating federal criminal law. The customer must not know that a SAR is being filed. These reports are filed wi
