Treasury Issues Bank Guidance on Customer Data Sharing

The Treasury Department issued new guidance Friday that expands how banks can share customer information and adds reasons for reporting suspicious activity. The guidance permits banks to exchange data in real time and broadens the list of indicators that can trigger sharing. One listed indicator is use of an individual taxpayer identification number.

Background on the Executive Order An executive order signed in May requires banks to review customer citizenship status and directs regulators to identify accounts opened by people without legal immigration status. The order does not require banks to collect citizenship data.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the guidance helps banks detect fraud and other crimes. “The information in your purview can help stop a cartel financier, disrupt a money laundering network, uncover labor exploitation, or protect taxpayers from fraud,” Bessent said in prepared remarks.

Bessent also stated that the advisory does not ask banks to act as immigration officers.

Banks have previously resisted collecting citizenship information, citing the volume of paperwork required. Immigration advocates have said such collection could increase the number of people outside the banking system. The Treasury previously reclassified certain tax credits as federal public benefits, which affects eligibility for some immigrant taxpayers.