The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) issued an updated version of its “frequently asked questions” (FAQs) under the common reporting standard (CRS) containing the following updates:
- Under the due diligence requirements section: A new FAQ was added regarding reporting financial institutions reliance on publicly available information. The FAQ discusses whether a reporting financial institution can rely solely on the inclusion of an account holder in the FATCA foreign financial institutions (FFIs) list to determine its status as a financial institution. Although reporting financial institutions can use publicly available information to “reasonably determine” an entity’s status, inclusion in the FATCA FFI list alone is not sufficient to confirm an account holder is a financial institution for CRS purposes.
- Under the definitions section, non-reporting financial institution subsection: A new FAQ was added regarding the inclusion of a qualified credit card issuer (QCCI) as a financial institution. Specifically, the FAQ addresses the issue of whether a jurisdiction can include a financial institution in the definition of a QCCI if the financial institution implements the required policies and procedures at a later date, but before the start of a subsequent reportable period. The FAQ confirms that a jurisdiction can classify a financial institution as a QCCI if it meets all the specified requirements and has the necessary policies and procedures in place at the start of, and throughout, the subsequent reportable period.
- Under the definitions section, financial accounts subsection: A new FAQ was added regarding whether a financial institution maintains a financial account under CRS if it holds client funds for trading contract for differences. Per the FAQ, since custodial accounts hold financial assets and do not include money, these accounts are not custodial accounts. However, they may be considered depository accounts if they are maintained by the financial institution in the ordinary course of a banking or similar business.
Read a May 2024 report prepared by KPMG LLP