HOUSTON (Nexstar) — U.S. Secretary Scott Bessent is asking banks and other financial institutions to help him crack down on fraud.
“Across the country, community bankers serve as the first line of defense in our financial infrastructure,” Bessent said during a roundtable press conference in Houston on Friday. “They know their customers, understand their local economies, and often discern emerging risk long before they appear in the national statistics.”
Bessent’s trip to Houston covered lots of ground — including meeting with the Petroleum Club to talk about the region’s role in American energy independence. But the roundtable primarily focused on two recent moves:
- A June 5 advisory asking banks “to be vigilant against fraud schemes… involving the unlawful employment of illegal aliens;”
- And a June 12 fact sheet effectively giving financial institutions greater protections to share data related to suspected fraud.
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