Some Bank Reporting Rules to Change

The Treasury Department is changing some of the reporting procedures required of banks, with the hope that authorities will be better able to spot evidence of criminal activity.

Starting May 1, banks will no longer have to file a report on every currency transaction of more than $10,000, the department said Wednesday.

Banks will still be required to report all suspicious currency transactions, however. Those reports are used by law enforcement in their investigations.

Dropping many of the routine reports is expected to reduce the number of required filings by 2 million in the first year alone.

“It will provide law enforcement with a more focused stream of quality information and allow our financial institutions to operate more efficiently,” Treasury Secretary Robert E. Rubin said.

Reports on transactions of more than $10,000 will not be required if they involve:

* Another bank in the United States.

* Any federal, state or local government.

* Any corporation whose stock is traded in the major securities markets, or any consolidated subsidiary that files combined federal income tax returns.