Results of Deloitte’s FATCA Fiduciary Survey show that the Channel Islands' finance industries are rising to the challenge of the FATCA regime.
Forty-one businesses across the three Crown Dependencies responded to the survey, with 78 per cent of respondents saying they have completed their FATCA classification and only 10 per cent reporting that their internal entities are not yet registered with the IRS.
Confidence in FATCA compliance is high within the islands, with 66 per cent of those surveyed saying they are ‘very confident’ or just below in relation to the FATCA compliance of their onboarding procedures. However there is still some way to go for most companies in terms of preparation for FATCA reporting commencing in 2015, with only 22 per cent saying they are well prepared. Most companies say they will be undertaking pre-existing account searches during the next nine months.
Looking ahead to the OECD's Common Reporting Standard (CRS) regime, it is clear that this presents the next challenge. Only five per cent of respondents have considered the impact in detail but 68 per cent of those surveyed expect CRS to have some or even significant impact.
The overriding theme that emerges from the survey is the amount of work that the FATCA regime entails for the fiduciary industry, both in terms of the large volume of work undertaken to date as well as the remaining tasks required over the coming months on reporting, due diligence and CRS in due course.
Deloitte undertook the survey to provide an industry snapshot so that local service providers can compare their own approach towards FATCA with that of their peers. The full survey can be accessed here.