Fighting fraud takes more than quick fixes. This checklist guides financial institutions through the essential components of building a strong, exam-ready fraud program that protects clients, minimizes losses, and aligns with regulatory expectations. Whether you’re refining an existing strategy or starting fresh, this resource ensures your institution addresses evolving threats with clarity and confidence.

Key takeaways:

• Learning how to assess risks across channels, clients, and fraud types
• Engaging teams with tailored training and public awareness
• Tracking impact with KPIs, audits, and board reporting

As fentanyl continues to fuel the overdose epidemic in the U.S., financial institutions play a critical role in identifying suspicious activity linked to the illicit flow of synthetic opioids. This quick-reference guide summarizes key red flags from FinCEN and equips anti-money laundering compliance professionals with the insight they need to enhance monitoring and reporting procedures. With a focus on both transaction activity and customer profiles, the resource helps AML teams better protect their institutions from unknowingly facilitating fentanyl trafficking.

Key Takeaways: 

• Learn how to spot common transaction types and behaviors of fentanyl trafficking
• Understand risky customer profiles
• Gain practical steps your institution can take today to incorporate into your AML program

After natural disasters like hurricanes, floods, and wildfires, fraudsters strike vulnerable communities—posing as relief agents, contractors, or charities to exploit victims. Financial institutions play a critical role in helping customers stay safe and recover faster.

This free checklist highlights:

• 4 common disaster-related scams targeting victims and donors
• Key red flags to watch for across FEMA, contractor, charity, and grant scams
• Actionable tips to verify legitimacy and avoid costly mistakes
• Reporting guidance to help victims take swift action

Internal fraud can quietly chip away at a financial institution’s stability—and it often flies under the radar for far too long. This checklist walks you through practical, proactive steps to help spot red flags, set clear expectations for employees, and put strong controls in place. Whether you’re tightening internal controls or coaching leadership to set expectations, this resource gives you clear steps to limit risk and boost accountability.

Takeaways:

• Identifying red flags of internal fraud
• Discovering which internal safeguards can help prevent fraud before it starts
• Using technology for key monitoring and identification

Banks and credit unions are optimistic about the future, but lending leaders still face pressing concerns—from deposit growth to cybersecurity. Without the right strategies, financial institutions risk inefficiencies, missed lending opportunities, and rising costs.

This checklist highlights five challenges lending leaders can help address in 2025 and how to combat them, including ways to:

• Streamline lending workflows and reduce manual inefficiencies
• Enhance deposit growth and attract new customers through targeted incentives and relationship management
• Manage the cost of funds while maintaining profitability

Download now to learn how proactive strategies and technology-driven solutions can help your institution navigate these challenges and achieve sustainable growth.

Additional resources:

• Whitepaper: 5 Ways to be a more data-driven lender
• Blog: 5 Critical reports for lenders

Closely defining and managing credit exceptions ensures they do not undermine an institution’s credit risk management framework. Sound exception management limits “noise” so financial institutions can identify the true root(s) of risk in the loan portfolio.

To manage exceptions at your bank or credit union, follow the 5 steps laid out in this checklist.

You might also like these: 

Webinar: Credit policy reboot

Guide: How to conduct a loan policy tune-up

Suspicious activity report (SAR) writing and filing is arguably one of the most important responsibilities of financial crimes professionals. With more than 3.5 million SARs filed annually, AML/CFT departments must capture these critical elements to ensure their SARs catch the attention of law enforcement. BSA Officers can leverage this updated SAR Writing Checklist to ensure they have incorporated the key items law enforcement is looking for in a quality SAR.

Download this checklist for:

• Essential elements to include in each SAR
• Key components of a compelling narrative
• Other critical details that must be addressed

Want more information on SARs and what to do if the AML/CFT team is filing repeated SARs on the same customer or member? Read this blog: “De-risking your SARs: Building SAR relationship exit strategies into your AML/CFT program.”

A strategic asset/liability management committee (ALCO) monitors and manages risks associated with a bank or credit union’s balance sheet.

In a recent webinar, experts identified strategies for ALCO members to consider as they assess common options for managing the balance sheet.

Download now to learn: 

• 3 common options for managing the balance sheet
• Important considerations and tips for evaluating your strategies

An asset/liability model is critical to a financial institution’s success, and a rigorous approach is required to choose a model that is compliant with regulations and tailored to the institution’s specific needs. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to selecting an ALM model, so banks and credit unions should carefully evaluate their options to find one that suits their unique goals and reporting requirements.

The following checklists are meant to serve as a guide for evaluating ALM model approaches.

• Vendor background
• Model functionality
• Implementation and support
• Information security factors

Additional ALM resource: Find out more about effective asset/liability management models in this guide, Choosing an effective ALM model.