The Corporate Transparency Act: A Reminder for Public Companies and Banks

Banking & Financial Institutions

On January 1, 2025, business entities in existence prior to January 1, 2024 must file initial beneficial ownership reports with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) under the federal Corporate Transparency Act.

Public companies that file reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission are exempt from these beneficial ownership reporting requirements, as are banks and bank holding companies. There is also an exemption for subsidiaries of these types of entities, provided that the ownership interests of the subsidiary are wholly owned or controlled (directly or indirectly) by the public company, bank, or bank holding company. Subsidiaries that are not wholly owned or controlled may be subject to the beneficial ownership reporting requirements, depending on the availability of other exemptions. FinCEN has stated that in order to qualify for the subsidiary exemption, “a subsidiary’s ownership interests must be fully, 100 percent owned or controlled” by one more exempt entities.

Jonathan A. Greene is co-leader of the Banking & Financial Institutions practice group of Wyrick Robbins, and is also a member of the firm’s Capital Markets practice group.

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