On June 12, 2026, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) released an updated Section 314(b) fact sheet (Fact Sheet), issuing guidance that significantly broadens the scope of voluntary information sharing among financial institutions to include suspected fraud offenses. The Fact Sheet expands upon and replaces FinCEN’s December 2020 fact sheet. According to FinCEN’s press release, the guidance is part of Treasury’s participation in the White House Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, in an effort to use all available resources to identify, stop, and prevent fraud.
To help identify and respond to money laundering and terrorist activities, Section 314(b) of the USA PATRIOT Act provides financial institutions that are subject to the AML compliance requirements under the Bank Secrecy Act the ability to share voluntarily information with one another under a safe harbor that offers protections from liability. Though participation is voluntary, FinCEN strongly encourages financial institutions to register and participate in the program. Previous fact sheets established that financial institutions may share information relating to activities suspected to involve possible terrorist financing or money laundering. As discussed below, the Fact Sheet clarifies that such information sharing can be used for the purpose of identifying and reporting possible terrorist activity and money laundering, including fraud and other criminal activity.
In this recent update to the Fact Sheet, FinCEN explicitly clarified that fraud offenses are specified unlawful activities (SUAs) for money laundering offenses and therefore subject to the information-sharing safe harbor. Fraud offenses qualifying as SUAs include mail fraud, wire fraud, bank fraud, securities fraud, and fraud connected to unauthorized access of a protected computer. FinCEN specified that financial institutions do not need to identify specific proceeds of fraud being laundered to trigger the protection of the Section 314(b) safe harbor. Rather, a suspicion of fraud alone is sufficient to trigger information sharing by financial institutions.
This is a notable departure from FinCEN’s September 5, 2025 guidance on cross-border information sharing, which appeared to strictly limit the sharing of information to that related to threats posed by money laundering, terrorist financing, and other illicit finance activity.
Moreover, the guidance confirmed that a registered financial institution may share information with another registered financial institution even if the sharing entity has no reason to believe the information relates to any specific customer, account, or transaction of the receiving institution. The receiving institution may use such information to strengthen its AML program, incorporate its AML program into its transaction monitoring system, or use its AML program to comply with its Bank Secrecy Act obligations.
The Fact Sheet highlights several benefits to financial institutions that participate in 314(b) information sharing. Notably, among the key benefits identified by FinCEN is the ability to share information about fraud, consumer scams, and other crimes that occur rapidly and are often carried out by repeat actors who move across financial institutions to evade detection.
The Fact Sheet specified that there is no limitation on the types of personally identifiable information shared or the method of communication when sharing is consistent with Section 314(b). The updated guidance expressly permits financial institutions and associations of financial institutions to share information in writing, verbally, or through electronic platforms in real time as activity is occurring.
Notably, FinCEN clarified that neither Section 314(b) nor its implementing regulations restrict the types of information that financial institutions may share, with the exception of suspicious activity reports (SARs). The Fact Sheet expressly states that financial institutions may share transaction monitoring system alerts and indicators of potentially suspicious activity, including the addition of new account payees followed by large transfers, the detection of multiple accounts sharing the same or similar identifying information, and login activity originating from geographically distant locations.
In the Fact Sheet, FinCEN also confirmed that a financial institution may share Section 314(b) information with a foreign financial institution—including a foreign affiliate or subsidiary—to the extent the foreign financial institution meets the definition of a “financial institution” for 314(b) purposes (e.g., it has established and maintains an AML program). That said, information sharing with a foreign financial institution under Section 314(b) must still comply with related legal obligations under domestic and foreign laws.
Financial institutions can use shared information to jointly file SARs, as allowed by FinCEN regulations. While financial institutions are required to keep SARs, and even the existence of an SAR, confidential, participating financial institutions are permitted to discuss information in connection with considering or filing a joint SAR. That said, any information shared under Section 314(b) does not alter the prohibition on disclosure of an SAR itself or any information that would reveal the existence of an SAR.
FinCEN’s latest update to the Fact Sheet on Section 314(b) represents a significant clarification of the scope of information sharing for registered financial institutions, though the guidance does not represent a change in existing rules or laws. By expressly confirming that fraud-related information is covered by the safe harbor, that sharing may occur in real time, and that there are no prescribed limitations on data types or communication methods, FinCEN has removed ambiguities that may previously have inhibited participation.
If you have questions or would like to discuss these issues further, please contact the authors of this client alert.