Useful Information

The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (“FATCA”) is a United States (US) law designed to combat tax evasion by US taxpayers (“US Persons”) in relation to income or investments held outside the United States. This regime came into force on 1 July 2014 and applies to financial institutions worldwide.

Portugal has entered into an Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) with the United States, enabling the automatic and annual exchange of tax information between the authorities of both countries, thereby incorporating the FATCA regime into the Portuguese legal framework.

In this context, all Portuguese financial institutions, including Bison Bank, are required to identify and report to the national tax authorities any clients who qualify as US Persons under this legislation.

Bison Bank fully complies with the regulatory requirements imposed by FATCA, ensuring the implementation of the necessary procedures to properly identify clients with US Person status and to carry out the corresponding annual reporting, as required by applicable legislation.

The Bank has developed robust internal processes that ensure consistent and rigorous compliance with these obligations, including the periodic updating of client information and the integration of specific controls within account opening and account management procedures. This approach reinforces transparency, regulatory compliance, and Bison Bank’s commitment to international best practices.

For FATCA purposes, US Persons generally include clients who present one or more of the following characteristics, as defined under US law:

• US citizenship (including dual nationals), even if residing outside the United States;
• Green card holders;
• Place of birth in the United States (unless there has been a formal renunciation of citizenship);
• Permanent residence or substantial presence in the United States (meeting the criteria established under US tax law);
• Entities incorporated under US law;
• Foreign entities whose ultimate beneficial owners are considered US Persons and who hold, directly or indirectly, more than 25% of the share capital or voting rights.

FATCA has no impact on the majority of clients.
However, for clients classified as US Persons, Bison Bank has implemented specific procedures, including:

• Collection and validation of additional documentation during the account opening process;
• Ongoing review and updating of information to ensure correct FATCA classification;
• Potential annual reporting to the Portuguese tax authorities, as required by applicable legislation and international agreements.

For further details on FATCA, please refer to the official website of the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS):
https://www.irs.gov/businesses/corporations/foreign-account-tax-compliance-act-fatca

The Common Reporting Standard (CRS) is an international framework developed by the OECD to enable the automatic exchange of tax information between countries, with the aim of combating cross-border tax evasion and fraud. CRS covers income, assets, and other financial gains held in jurisdictions other than the one in which the client is tax resident.

Portugal was one of the first countries to adopt CRS, and the European Union has also formalised its implementation through a specific directive, requiring its incorporation into national legislation. The regime has been in force since 1 January 2016 and applies to all financial institutions in participating jurisdictions (a “Participating Jurisdiction” refers to all jurisdictions that have adopted the regime, other than the jurisdiction of the reporting financial institution).

Bison Bank fully complies with the obligations arising from CRS, ensuring the identification of clients who are tax residents in participating jurisdictions and carrying out the annual reporting of relevant tax information to the Portuguese tax authorities, as required under the regime.

The Bank has implemented specific internal processes to ensure the collection, validation, and updating of the information required to meet CRS due diligence and reporting requirements.

Under CRS, the following are in scope:

• Individuals who are tax residents in any participating jurisdiction;
• Non-Financial Entities (active or passive) that are tax resident in participating jurisdictions;
• Passive Non-Financial Entities in non-participating jurisdictions, where at least one of their ultimate beneficial owners is tax resident in a participating jurisdiction.

Financial institutions identify reportable clients and annually report to the Portuguese Tax Authority information regarding:

• Income paid or made available during the previous year;
• Financial assets held with the institution as at 31 December.

This information is subsequently transmitted to the tax authorities of the client’s country of tax residence, within the framework of the international automatic exchange of information.