The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation will host an educational workshop on cross-border business after complaints of disappearing banking services and account closures along the border.
The invitation-only event, scheduled for June 16 in Nogales, will cover issues relevant to border banking, including compliance with anti-money-laundering regulations, said Sen. John McCain in a news release.
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, which supervises and regulates banks in the United States, will also participate.
Cash-intensive businesses and companies that depend on frequent cross-border money transfers, such as the Nogales produce industry, have seen their access to services affected over banking-sector fears.
In the last few years, the federal government has fined the banks billions of dollars over violations of anti-money-laundering regulations.
βA better understanding of supervisory expectations on the part of the banking industry and the business community on the border can only improve the financial infrastructure and legitimate commercial ecosystem that is essential for commerce and economic growth in the region,β said Paul Hickman, president of the Arizona Bankers Association, in a news release.
Arizonaβs senators have taken an active interest in the issue and welcomed the federal agenciesβ visit to Nogales.
Last September, Sen. McCain sent letters to the heads of Bank of America, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo seeking information about business complaints, and earlier this year Sen. Jeff Flake and McCain requested a hearing on the matter before the Senate banking committee.
