FATCA FFI Update and It Doesn't Look Pretty. September Did Not Break 100,000!

The IRS published its September list of 99,861 FFIs registered for FATCA.  But that's just an increase of about 4,500 registrations since the August list of 95,239.  The disappointing September result is a harbringer of the rough waters ahead for general FATCA compliance.  

Considering the growth in registrations has slowed dramtically from the July to August increase of only 7,246 additional entities (up from 87,993 in July), many industry watchers are sounding the alarm bells.

How Many Foreign Financial Institutions Are Still Not Registered?  Most!

Most pundits thought at least 20% of the FFIs requiring FATCA registration would have done so by September - with only 120 days left before the precipice of 30% withholding begins against IGA countries.  120,000 is the minimum number brought up by industry for the September list that would need be registered to show wide compliance buy-in.  The declining increase is indeed troubling.  Total global compliance remains less than 20% by both the IRS and foreign government estimated numbers.

The 30% FATCA withholding began July 1st on 143 countries (101 have IGAs that forestall withholding until January 1, 2015).  Only 4,991 FFI (5%) registered from these 143 countries.  Thus, FATCA compliance is running in the low, single digits for these countries.  FATCA isn't gaining widespread acceptance - at least not yet.

Read the September analysis of the complete FFI Registration List by Country on Haydon Perryman's blog 

Read the August analysis and a country-by-country, and IGA, breakdown at International Financial Law Professor

Who We Are?

Haydon Perryman, FATCA Compliance expert of Strevus, and I have been undertaking (and publishing) the leading, same-day, analysis of the previous June 2^nd  and the July 1^st  of the FATCA FFI GIIN list by country, by IGA, by EAG, as well as exploring other interesting aspects of registered FFIs, and FATCA compliance documentation (e.g. W-8s and equivalent forms allowed by IGA). Haydon brings the practical side to bear having established the FATCA compliance system for Tier 1 UK institutions and Tier 1 EU ones, and I the academic side being the primary author of Lexis’ Guide to FATCA Compliance and an international tax professor.

free chapter download here —> http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2457671   Number of Pages in PDF File: 58

 

Model 1A IGA	54,829	85	Note 4
Model 1B IGA	22,779	3
Model 2 IGA	16,524	13
US	679	1
US Territory	59	5	Notes 1
No IGA	4,991	144	Notes 2
Total	99,861	250	Notes 1, 2, 3 & 4
Non IGA	4,991	144
Non IGA%	5%	58%
IGA	94,132	101
IGA%	94%	40%
US and US Territories	738	6
US %	1%	2%