CRB CRB Branch Operations & Management 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is the purpose of a Suspicious Activity Report (SAR)?
- To report teller errors to the branch manager
- To notify FinCEN of transactions suspected to involve money laundering or other financial crimes (Correct answer)
- To document customer complaints about fees
- To record ATM outages for the IT department
Correct answer: To notify FinCEN of transactions suspected to involve money laundering or other financial crimes
SARs are filed with FinCEN when a bank suspects transactions involve illegal activity such as money laundering, fraud, or terrorist financing.
Question 2: A new teller notices a regular customer making several cash deposits just under $10,000 on consecutive days. What should the teller do?
- Accept all deposits without comment since each is under $10,000
- Report the pattern internally as potential structuring to the compliance officer or BSA officer (Correct answer)
- Refuse to accept any further deposits from the customer
- Immediately call law enforcement
Correct answer: Report the pattern internally as potential structuring to the compliance officer or BSA officer
Consistent deposits just below the CTR threshold are a classic structuring red flag that must be escalated to the BSA/compliance officer for review.
Question 3: What does the Expedited Funds Availability Act (Regulation CC) govern?
- The interest rates banks must offer on savings accounts
- The maximum time banks can place holds on deposited checks (Correct answer)
- The minimum capital reserves banks must maintain
- The fees banks may charge for returned checks
Correct answer: The maximum time banks can place holds on deposited checks
Regulation CC establishes maximum hold periods banks may impose on deposited checks, ensuring customers have timely access to their funds.
Question 4: In a retail branch, what is the role of a 'dual control' procedure?
- Having two tellers service the same customer simultaneously
- Requiring two authorized employees to jointly perform sensitive tasks like vault access (Correct answer)
- Allowing two managers to approve loans under $1,000
- Running two computer systems simultaneously as backup
Correct answer: Requiring two authorized employees to jointly perform sensitive tasks like vault access
Dual control reduces the risk of theft or error by requiring two employees to jointly complete high-risk tasks such as opening the vault or processing large cash shipments.
Question 5: What is the primary goal of a branch's referral program?
- To reduce the branch's operating costs
- To grow the bank's customer base and deepen existing customer relationships through staff-driven introductions (Correct answer)
- To replace advertising with word-of-mouth only
- To compensate customers for using bank services
Correct answer: To grow the bank's customer base and deepen existing customer relationships through staff-driven introductions
Referral programs incentivize staff to connect customers with additional products or refer prospects, driving growth and relationship depth.
Question 6: What is a 'stop payment' order on a check?
- A regulatory hold placed by the FDIC on a bank account
- A customer's instruction to the bank not to honor a specific check they have issued (Correct answer)
- An automatic freeze triggered by overdraft protection
- A hold placed on incoming wire transfers
Correct answer: A customer's instruction to the bank not to honor a specific check they have issued
A stop payment is a customer-initiated request directing the bank to refuse payment of a specific check before it clears.
CRB CRB Branch Operations & Management 2
What is the purpose of a Suspicious Activity Report (SAR)?