BACKGROUND -

On January 17, 2013, the U.S. Department of the Treasury (“Treasury”) and the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) issued final regulations implementing the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (“FATCA”).

Congress enacted FATCA in 2010 as part of the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment Act (the “HIRE Act”), and it is housed in Sections 1471 through 1474 of the Code.

As described in the final regulations, the purpose of FATCA is broadly to buttress the existing U.S. information reporting regime by imposing reporting requirements on certain foreign financial institutions (“FFIs”), as well as other nonfinancial foreign entities (“NFFEs”) with substantial U.S. ownership.