MTRA’s 2005 Annual Conference kicked off on November 7th in Charleston, South Carolina, with a record number of regulators and industry officials attending. About 240 regulators and industry officials attended the three day event, representing member states and money transmitters across the country. Representatives of the US, Mexico and Canadian governments also attended and made presentations. The conference included an examiners school, where the new IRS examination program was unveiled by IRS and FinCEN representatives. FinCEN Director William Fox, no stranger to MTRA, was the keynote speaker.
This year’s theme was entitled “A new Cooperation in State and Federal Regulation”. The program provided an atmosphere to facilitate networking and exchange between and among industry and regulators. In his key note address FinCEN Director Fox emphasized the important role states are playing in licensing and examining money transmitters thereby diminishing the money laundering risks associated with unlicensed money transmitters. There was also a discussion of the cooperative examination program developed by MTRA to examine transmitters operating across state lines thereby reducing the regulatory burden, the costs associated with multiple examinations and duplication of effort. A panel consisting of regulators, bankers and industry had a healthy discussion of the reasons banks are closing accounts of money transmitters and ways to address the problem. The consensus was that both bankers and money transmitters need to understand each others business and FinCEN needs to dispel the erroneous perception that the money transmitter business is high risk. As FinCEN Director Fox stated licensing and examination of money transmitters by the states and examination by IRS ameliorates the risk associated with the business.
The following directors and officers were elected for two years terms: Joseph E. Rooney (MD) President and Director, Randall S. James (TX) Vice President and Director, Robert Venchiarutti (CA) Secretary and Director, Tracy M Hudson (WV) Treasurer and Director, John Bishop (OH) Director, Reitzel Deaton (NC) Director, J. Philip Goddard (IN) Director, Greg Gonzales (TN) Director and Nicholas C. Kyrus (VA) Director.
The conference closed with a presentation of a plaque to outgoing MTRA President Phil Goddard for his services to the association. Incoming president Joe Rooney announced that the next annual MTRA conference will be held in Santa Fe, NM, in November 2006.