New requirements for the review of US customers at financial institutions

On 1 July 2014, new US requirements will come into effect. Under the new regulation, banks and other financial institutions in the whole world will have to identify whether their clientele include US tax payers. The requirements will mainly refer to the persons who are US tax payers holding accounts or having investments in banks or other financial institutions outside the USA.

The above requirements will be implemented under the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). The purpose of the act is to deny US tax residents the opportunity to avoid taxes by investing abroad; due to this reason, the requirements will apply to both new and existing customers who are US tax residents.

How the FATCA requirements will affect Nordea customers:

Based on the information available to the Bank, it will assess the potential connection of its new and existing customers with the USA, and, should such connection be established, the customer will via Net bank or regular mail receive a request to fill out a special form. It will not be necessary for the customers to visit the Bank.

Starting from 2015, the Bank will be required to report to the State Revenue Service about the customers who are US tax residents, which will in turn inform the US Internal Revenue Service about the customer's account balance, interest revenue, dividends and earnings from securities.

For more information see section "Know your customer".

The Association of Commercial Banks of Latvia fact sheet.