In late February, the New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) issued guidelines to financial institutions located within the state regarding prevention of elder financial exploitation. The guidelines were issued to remind banks and other lending institutions that they are allowed to report possible instances of elder financial exploitation to New York’s Adult Protective Services (APS) in addition to outlining the best practices used to identify, investigate, and report instances of elder financial abuse to the authorities.
Federal and State Reporting Law
While not mandated, DFS strongly recommended that financial institutions report any suspected elder financial abuse to APS. A joint task force of the federal OCC and FDIC released their own report in 2013 that clarified that it is not a violation of state or federal law to report suspected elder financial abuse to the relevant authorities.