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BOARD OF GOVERNORS

OF THE

FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20551

DIVISION OF BANKING

SUPERVISION AND REGULATION

SR 15-12

October 15, 2015

TO THE OFFICER IN CHARGE OF SUPERVISION

AT EACH FEDERAL RESERVE BANK

SUBJECT: Spanish Translation of the 2014 Federal Financial Institutions Examination 

Council’s Bank Secrecy Act/Anti-Money Laundering Examination Manual

Applicability: This letter applies to all financial institutions supervised by the Federal Reserve,

including those with $10 billion or less in consolidated assets that are subject to the Bank 

Secrecy Act.1

The Federal Reserve, together with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the 

National Credit Union Administration, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency 

(collectively, the agencies), issued a Spanish language translation of the Federal Financial 

Institutions Examination Council’s (FFIEC) Bank Secrecy Act/Anti-Money Laundering

(BSA/AML) Examination Manual (manual) on October 1, 2015. The Spanish version is based on 

the most recent version of the manual issued by the FFIEC in December 2014.2

The agencies have developed the Spanish language version of the manual largely in 

response to requests from industry and trade groups. Releasing a Spanish language version of 

the manual furthers the agencies’ goal of making their regulatory expectations regarding 

BSA/AML compliance programs as accessible and useful as possible. In the event of a conflict 

between the English and Spanish translations of the manual, the English translation will prevail.

Reserve Banks are asked to distribute this letter, as appropriate, to state member banks, 

bank holding companies, Edge and Agreement Act corporations, and U.S. branches, agencies, 

and representative offices of foreign banking organizations, as well as to their supervisory and 

examination staff. Questions regarding this letter may be directed to Jennifer White, Supervisory 

 1 Federal Reserve supervised institutions that are subject to the BSA include: state member banks (Regulation H, 

12 CFR 208), bank holding companies (Regulation Y, 12 CFR 225), Edge and agreement corporations, and foreign 

banking organizations operating in the United States (Regulation K, 12 CFR 211). 

2 Refer to SR letter 14-10, “Release of the 2014 Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council’s Bank Secrecy 

Act/Anti-Money Laundering Examination Manual.” The English version of the manual is available on the FFIEC 

website at: www.ffiec.gov/bsa_aml_infobase/default.htm.
 

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Financial Analyst, at (202) 452-3964, or Koko Ives, Manager, BSA/AML Compliance Section, 

at (202) 973-6163. In addition, questions may be sent via the Federal Reserve’s public website.3

Michael S. Gibson

Director

Attachment:

• Spanish Translation of the FFIEC BSA/AML Examination Manual

Cross References to:

• SR Letter 14-10, “Release of the 2014 Federal Financial Institutions Examination 

Council’s Bank Secrecy Act/Anti-Money Laundering Examination Manual”

Supersedes:

• SR Letter 11-5, “Spanish Translation of the FFIEC BSA/AML Examination Manual”

 3 See http://www.federalreserve.gov/apps/contactus/feedback.aspx.