KUWAIT, April 15 (KUNA) -- Kuwait International Bank (KIB) has completed all the requirements to register with the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) regarding the enforcement of FATCA, said the bank's Board Chairman Sheikh Muhammad Al-Jarrah Al-Sabah, in a press statement on Tuesday.
He said to ensure total compliance with the IRS, the bank employed the services of an international consulting firm, noting that KIB was among the vanguard of banks in the Gulf and Middle East region responding to the IRS's request for registration with it. KIB, he stressed, was fully ready to apply FATCA rules and regulations.
KIB CEO Luay Maqamas said that the bank would inform its customer base from now and in the near future that they should update their personal information with the bank, especially those who are US citizens or residents.
FATCA is a US law which requires world banks to send to the US Treasury information about accounts they hold that belong to US citizens whose income earnings exceed USD 50,000 in any given year. Banks that do not supply that information will be exposed to penalties. FATCA applies to banks, financial firms, insurance companies. (end) fnk.ajs