Source: Date: Updated: |
TheBahamasInvestor.com
Monday, November 5, 2012 Monday, November 5, 2012 |
As uncertainty grows over the new US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), which is due to become law next year, financial services professionals in The Bahamas are gathering information from industry leaders on how the new regulations will affect them.
The Bahamas Financial Services Board (BFSB) hosted a FATCA symposium at the British Colonial Hilton today to educate the industry on issues such as compliance, the specifics of the legislation and how it will effect the insurance, wealth management and funds and securities sectors.
Under FATCA, foreign financial institutions (FFIs) will be forced to disclose information on their US accounts to the US Treasury. The legislation has undergone many revisions and delays with some provisions still being drawn up by the US government. The final regulations are expected to be issued by the end of the year.
Opening the event, chief executive officer and executive director of the BFSB Aliya Allen called the regulation “a broad and sweeping sea change in the financial world” and said it was making headlines around the globe. “The reality is FATCA is here and FATCA is not going away,” she told attendees.
Minister for Financial Services Ryan Pinder said FATCA was an indication of the growing importance of compliance.
“We as an industry must be prepared to accept that what we are subject to under FATCA will only be the start of a new normal,” he said. “We, as a long-standing jurisdiction that has developed a significant level of expertise, can not only compete in this new normal, but also be industry leaders.”
cmorris@dupuch