On December 4, the CFPB, the FDIC, the Fed, FINCEN, the NCUA, the OCC and state financial regulators issued a statement titled the “Interagency Statement on Elder Financial Exploitation” to provide supervised financial institutions risk mitigation strategies and other best practices to identify, prevent and address elder financial abuse. The statement — which emphasized to not impose new regulatory requirements or replace any previous guidance — outlined certain governance and oversight strategies that encourage the supervised institutions to develop risk-based policies, internal controls, and transaction monitoring practices to identify and avoid elder financial abuse. For example, the agencies stressed the importance of employee training to recognize and respond to elder exploitation and implement escalation processes as necessary. The statement also discussed the use of transaction holds and disbursement delays as preventive measures to ensure compliance with applicable laws and regulations. It encouraged financial institutions to establish trusted contact practices to allow account holders to designate individuals who can be contacted if exploitation is suspected.
Furthermore, the statement detailed the requirements for filing Suspicious Activity Reports related to elder financial exploitation and emphasized the confidentiality of these reports. It advocated for timely reporting to law enforcement and Adult Protective Services to increase the chances of recovery of funds and outlined the legal framework supporting such disclosures. Finally, the interagency guidance included a list of resources from federal and state agencies to support financial institutions in implementing these practices.
