Banks take steps to comply with FATCA

Banks are taking steps to comply with the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) agreement signed between Cyprus and the USA, the Bank Association said on Wednesday.

Cyprus and the US signed the agreement in December and the deal was ratified by Parliament.

FATCA aims to combat tax evasion by US tax residents using foreign accounts. It requires financial institutions outside the US to pass information about their US customers to the US tax authorities.

The Bank Association said that all licensed credit institutions in Cyprus and other financial institutions were required to follow certain procedures to identify US account holders.

“All the banks – members of the Bank Association are taking steps to comply with their FATCA agreement,” the association said.