Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) Deputy Director Charles M. Steele participated in a town hall meeting today with approximately 20 Chicago area depository institutions with assets under $5 billion. Today’s meeting was held in conjunction with FinCEN’s ongoing financial institutions outreach initiative to learn more about the business practices of financial institutions, how their anti-money laundering programs operate, and the challenges of implementing these programs. The outreach initiative also enhances FinCEN’s ability to ensure the consistent application of, examination for, and enforcement of the Bank Secrecy Act. In addition to today’s town hall meeting, FinCEN has already conducted numerous meetings around the country this year with individual banks within this asset class, with additional meetings scheduled through the remainder of the year.