Banks in Romania agree to disclose information on Americans’ local accounts

Over 100 banks, insurance companies, brokerage companies and fund managers in Romania have registered to allow US authorities to have data about Americans who have over USD 50,000 in their accounts in Romania, according to Mediafax newswire. This came after Romania and the US inked a data transfer agreement, based on the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act – FATCA. The agreement follows the model signed with the UK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain. This allows foreign financial institutions under the jurisdiction of a partner company to directly report data to the national fiscal authorities, which in turn report to the US authorities. Large banks such as Banca Comerciala Romana, BRD Groupe Societe Generale, Bancpost, UniCredit Tiriac Bank and Raiffeisen Bank are among the Romanian lenders who will report data on US account holders. Brokerage firms included in the program are Raiffeisen Capital & Investment, SSIF Broker and NBG Securities, along with insurers Allianz Tiriac Asigurari, Groupama Asigurari and Uniqa, among others, according to Hotnews.ro. So far, over 77,000 foreign financial institutions, some of which from Russia, registered according to FATCA, from 70 countries. The US could block access on the American market should institutions not agree to disclose data. The provisions commonly known as the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act became law in March 2010. The objective of FATCA is the reporting of foreign financial assets; withholding is the cost of not reporting. editor@romania-insider.com