Title insurance companies will be required to provide more information about all-cash purchases according to new treasury department regulations.

The US Treasury Department will begin developing regulations that could expand reporting requirements for all-cash real estate purchases as part of the Administration’s efforts to cut down on global corruption, according to two senior administration officials. The new rule could force title insurance companies to turn over information about cash purchases funneled through shell companies in additional metropolitan areas, or implement new disclosures for commercial purchases in addition to residential sales, according to the officials, who requested anonymity to detail the effort before it’s formally announced. The rule-making process is an outgrowth of a new strategy to counter corruption that the administration has unveiled. Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo said that the new scrutiny being paid to real estate transactions was part of a broader push at the department to stop corrupt practices that intersected with the US financial system. The Treasury is also implementing a new law requiring US and foreign companies to disclose the identity of the persons who actually own and control the businesses when they are formed, registered in the US or change hands, he said in a speech at the Brookings Institution in Washington.

Source: National Mortgage Professional