U.S. Treasury Unveils New Model Agreement For FATCA Intergovernmental Data Sharing

The Treasury Department unveiled a long-awaited model agreement July 26, 2012, for government-to-government information sharing under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA)…

Australian Government Introduces Bill To Reform Privacy Regime

The Australian Government on May 23, 2012, introduced the Privacy Amendment (Enhancing Privacy Protection) Bill 2012 (Cth) (the Bill), which would amend the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (the Act) to implement the first tranche of the Government’s responses to the Australian Law Reform Commission’s (ALRC) 2008 report called “For Your Information: Australian Privacy Law and Practice” (the ALRC report).

EU Official: Member States Working on Model Government-to-Government Tax Data Sharing Pacts

European Union member states are focusing on producing uniform model agreements for government-to-government information sharing under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, and such a pact could be finished by the end of June, the EU’s highest tax official told BNA May 7.

Swiss Regulator Offers Package To Strengthen Client Protection Measures

GENEVA—Switzerland’s financial regulator unveiled a package of measures Feb. 24 aimed at boosting the protection of Swiss clients investing in financial products.

ANALYSIS: India’s Data Protection Rules And Their Impact On The Banking And Financial Services Industry

According to a report by global management consultancy McKinsey & Co., as many as 7 percent of bank account holders in India conduct banking transactions online, which represents a sevenfold jump since 2007, whereas branch banking has fallen by 15 percent…

ANALYSIS: The Australian Government’s Proposed Reform Of The Credit Reporting Rules Under The Privacy Act

The Commonwealth has issued its much awaited Exposure Draft of proposed legislation to implement reform of the current credit reporting provisions of the Privacy Act 1988 (Privacy Act)….

ANALYSIS: An Overview of Japanese Financial Inspections

In the past five articles of this series, we have focused on describing Japan’s financial services licensing regime, explaining in very general terms the types of financial business registrations available in Japan and the benefits they confer on their holders in providing financial services to residents of Japan

Swiss Court Orders Former Banker Held over Leak of Client Account Information

GENEVA—A Swiss court has ordered a former banker to be held in jail while prosecutors prepare charges over the release of secret account details to the WikiLeaks website.

ANALYSIS: U.S. and European Laws Set to Clash–Again: New U.S. Tax Law Requires Foreign Banks to Share Unprecedented Details About Customers Overseas

For years, multi-national companies have grappled with the legal concerns Sarbanes-Oxley Act whistleblower hotlines raised across Europe. More recently, the European Parliament has criticized the collection and sharing of passenger name records with the United States. Now, new federal tax reporting requirements may re-ignite irreconcilable conflicts between U.S. and European law.

Beginning in 2013, the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (“FATCA”), 1 will require “foreign financial institutions” to share unprecedented amounts of customer information with U.S. tax authorities. This law attempts to identify U.S. taxpayers with financial accounts offshore, and…