FinCEN Director James H. Freis, Jr. today addressed the Tennessee Bankers Association's Bank Security and Risk Management Conference in Nashville. He discussed FinCEN's efforts to combat fraud, as well as FinCEN's outreach to the nation's depository institutions with assets under $5 billion, which is the next phase of the agency's larger outreach program to industry. The conference was held in partnership with the Tennessee Department of Financial Institutions, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Internal Revenue Service, and United States Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Tennessee.
FinCEN's work with the State of Tennessee started 17 years ago when, at the request of Tennessee's Commissioner of the Department of Financial Institutions and in coordination with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, FinCEN conducted a study focusing on the financial activity of the check cashing industry and pawn shops within the state. The study, named Project Tennessee, assisted the State of Tennessee in reviewing all aspects of financial institution regulation and helped to inform subsequent financial regulatory efforts. FinCEN works with more than 300 Federal, State, and local agencies to combat financial crimes including consumer fraud, mortgage fraud, money laundering, and others.