BSA/AML Manual

APPENDIX D: STATUTORY DEFINITION OF FINANCIAL INSTITUTION

As defined in the BSA 31 USC 5312(a)(2), the term “financial institution” includes the following:

• An insured bank (as defined in section 3(h) of the FDI Act ( 12 USC 1813(h))).
• A commercial bank or trust company.
• A private banker.
• An agency or branch of a foreign bank in the United States.
• Any credit union.
• A thrift institution.
• A broker or dealer registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 ( 15 USC 78a et seq.).
• A broker or dealer in securities or commodities.
• An investment banker or investment company.
• A currency exchange.
• An issuer, redeemer, or cashier of traveler’s checks, checks, money orders, or similar instruments.
• An operator of a credit card system.
• An insurance company.
• A dealer in precious metals, stones, or jewels.
• A pawnbroker.
• A loan or finance company.
• A travel agency.
• A licensed sender of money or any other person who engages as a business in the transmission of funds, including any person who engages as a business in an informal money transfer system or any network of people who engage as a business in facilitating the transfer of money domestically or internationally outside of the conventional financial institutions system.
• A telegraph company.
• A business engaged in vehicle sales, including automobile, airplane, and boat sales.
• Persons involved in real estate closings and settlements.
• The United States Postal Service.
• An agency of the United States government or of a state or local government carrying out a duty or power of a business described in this paragraph.
• A casino, gambling casino, or gaming establishment with an annual gaming revenue of more than $1,000,000 that —
  • Is licensed as a casino, gambling casino, or gaming establishment under the laws of any state or any political subdivision of any state; or
  • Is an Indian gaming operation conducted under or pursuant to the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act other than an operation that is limited to class I gaming (as defined in section 4 (6) of such act).
• Any business or agency which engages in any activity which the Secretary of the Treasury determines, by regulation, to be an activity that is similar to, related to, or a substitute for any activity in which any business described in this paragraph is authorized to engage.
• Any other business designated by the Secretary whose cash transactions have a high degree of usefulness in criminal, tax, or regulatory matters.
• Any futures commission merchant, commodity trading advisor, or commodity pool operator registered, or required to register, under the Commodity Exchange Act ( 7 USC 1, et seq.).