It’s difficult to put a price tag on the average cost for compliance, but all financial institutions can agree that their costs are increasing.
A financial institution’s compliance costs include the cost of personnel, software to monitor suspicious transactions and to assist with other aspects of regulatory compliance, and/or the use of outside vendors. In addition, many financial institutions use outside audit firms to conduct their annual BSA, ACH and SAFE Act audits.
The CFPB announced in March 2013 that it is planning to survey financial institutions in order to have a better understanding of the cost of compliance. An article in a recent credit union publication cited a $73 million asset credit union that reported monthly compliance costs of $4,500 to $5,000, while a $179 million asset credit union reported a monthly compliance cost of $18,000. The cost may vary widely based on the complexity of the financial institution’s operations.