WASHINGTON — Members of NAFCU's board took the opportunity Dec. 5 to tour the headquarters of the U.S. Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) headquarters in Virginia. The visit was highlighted by a discussion with FinCEN Director James H. Freis, Jr.

"During these times, when security and compliance issues are a high priority for credit unions, we greatly appreciate the time and effort Director Freis and his staff dedicated for our visit and to address our members' concerns," said NAFCU President Fred Becker.

Freis underscored how valuable the contributions of credit unions are to law enforcement agencies and FinCEN. Specifically, in reference to the Bank Secrecy Act, he highlighted four uses for the information by law enforcement agencies, FinCEN and other financial regulators: tip off, identifying information, trends and deterrence.