ICBA, state affiliates urge Treasury to raise SAR, CTR thresholds 

ICBA and its affiliated state community banking associations called on the Treasury Department to raise the currency transaction report threshold to $30,000 and the suspicious activity report threshold to $10,000. 

Details: In a joint letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, ICBA and its state affiliates said:  

• The current thresholds, which haven’t been updated since 1972 (CTR) and 1992 (SAR), capture far more transactions than intended.  

• Outdated thresholds force community banks to divert resources to process an excessive volume of CTR and SAR filings, requiring costly technology systems, extensive staff time for monitoring and reporting, and ongoing training.  

• By raising the CTR threshold to $30,000 and the SAR threshold to $10,000, Treasury will significantly reduce unnecessary filings, deliver more actionable intelligence to law enforcement, and free community banks to focus resources on serving local businesses and families. 

Recent ICBA Advocacy:  

• ICBA in October expressed strong support for the Streamlining Transaction and Ensuring Anti-Money Laundering Improvements for a New Era (STREAMLINE) Act, a Senate bill that would raise the reporting thresholds and index the CTR threshold for inflation every five years. 

• In a statement for the record for a September House subcommittee hearing on FinCEN, ICBA said it strongly supports H.R. 1799, which would effectively implement a Government Accountability Office recommendation by raising the CTR and SAR thresholds.  

• ICBA in August met with Treasury Department officials to discuss reducing the burdens of CTRs and SARs.