IRS and Federal Reserve Open Comment Periods on Financial Compliance Rules, Both Closing Sept. 8

Federal Reserve Proposes AML/CFT Program Overhaul

The Federal Reserve Board is inviting comment on a proposed rule that would amend its regulations requiring Board-supervised banks to establish and maintain effective anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) programs. According to the proposed rule, these programs must be reasonably designed to identify, assess, and mitigate risks of illicit finance, with the stated aim of generating highly useful information related to illicit financial transactions for law enforcement and national security agencies.

The Board states that the proposed changes are intended to align its requirements with rules separately proposed on April 10, 2026 by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA). The document explains that FinCEN has delegated its authority to examine Board-supervised banks for BSA compliance to the Board, but that the Board also holds independent authority under 12 U.S.C. 1818(s) to prescribe such regulations. The proposed rule would amend 12 CFR 208.

The Board's stated rationale for alignment is explicit: with consistent regulatory text across agencies, banks will not be subject to additional burden or confusion from needing to comply with differing standards between regulatory agencies. The document traces the legislative history of these requirements to the Bank Secrecy Act, enacted in 1970 and amended several times since, and to the Money Laundering Control Act of 1986, which directed the Board and the Agencies to issue regulations requiring supervised banks to establish and maintain BSA compliance procedures. The proposed rule also expressly incorporates countering the financing of terrorism (CFT) requirements as part of a bank's AML program requirements — a change the document flags as a key structural update. The Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020 (AML Act) forms the statutory backdrop for the FinCEN amendments that this proposed rule tracks.

IRS Seeks Comments on New Markets Credit Notification Form

Separately, the Internal Revenue Service is inviting public comment under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 on an existing information collection: Form 8874-A, the Notice of Qualified Equity Investment for New Markets Credit (OMB Control Number 1545-2065). The IRS states there is no change to the previously approved information collection, but that the burden was recalculated for a better estimate.

The document explains the form's function: Community Development Entities (CDEs) must provide notice to any taxpayer who acquires a qualified equity investment in the CDE at its original issue, informing that taxpayer that the equity investment is a qualified equity investment entitling them to claim the new markets credit. Form 8874-A fulfills the notification requirement under Regulations section 1.45D-1(g)(2)(i)(A). The IRS estimates 500 responses annually, with an estimated time per response of 5 hours, 24 minutes, for an estimated total annual burden of 2,700 hours. The type of review is an extension of a currently approved collection, and affected entities include businesses, other for-profit organizations, and not-for-profit organizations.

The IRS is soliciting comment specifically on: whether the collection is necessary for proper agency function and has practical utility; the accuracy of the burden estimate; ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information collected; ways to minimize respondent burden including through automated collection techniques; and estimates of capital or start-up costs and costs of operation, maintenance, and purchase of services. Comments will be summarized and included in the request for OMB approval, and the IRS notes that all comments become a matter of public record.

What to Watch

Both comment periods share the same closing date. Written comments on the IRS Form 8874-A information collection must be received on or before September 8, 2026 to be assured of consideration. Comments on the Federal Reserve's proposed AML/CFT rule must also be submitted on or before September 8, 2026.

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