# Banking Transparency for Sanctioned Persons Act of 2021

This bill requires the U.S. Treasury Department to regularly report on which banks and financial institutions are doing business with people and organizations that the government has sanctioned or blacklisted. Specifically, it focuses on tracking financial services going to state sponsors of terrorism, human rights abusers, and corrupt officials. The Treasury Department would have to publish these reports every six months, listing any licenses it has issued allowing U.S. banks to work with sanctioned entities, as well as naming foreign banks that have knowingly conducted significant transactions with people on the government's "Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List."

The practical effect is increased transparency and public accountability. Right now, much of this information stays hidden from Congress and the public. This bill would make it visible to lawmakers and, in unclassified form, potentially to the public as well. It's designed to shine a light on financial institutions that might be helping bad actors move money around, whether those actors are linked to terrorism, human rights violations, or corruption. The bill does include a waiver option—the Treasury Secretary can skip reporting on certain foreign banks if they promise to stop doing business with sanctioned people, or if the Secretary certifies that disclosure would harm U.S. national interests.

The bill applies mainly to financial institutions and government agencies rather than ordinary citizens. However, it could indirectly affect regular people by potentially making it harder for sanctioned individuals and organizations to access the global financial system, which is the intended goal. The reporting requirement would last for seven years from when the bill becomes law, after which it would automatically expire unless Congress extends it.

Banking Transparency for Sanctioned Persons Act of 2021

Banking Transparency for Sanctioned Persons Act of 2021 This bill requires the Department of the Treasury to report semiannually on financial services provided to benefit a state sponsor of terrorism or specified sanctioned persons. Treasury may waive these reporting requirements with respect to a foreign financial institution if <ul> <li>the institution credibly assures Treasury that it will cease conducting transactions for such persons, or </li> <li>the waiver is important to the national interest. </li> </ul>