Offshore Bank - Offshore Financial Centres

Offshore Financial Centres

In terms of offshore banking centres, in terms of total deposits, the global market is dominated by two key jurisdictions: Switzerland and the Cayman Islands. A letter by the District Attorney of New York, Robert M. Morgenthau, published by the New York Times, states that the Cayman Islands has 1.9 trillion United States dollars on deposit in 281 banks, including 40 of the world’s top 50 banks. although numerous other offshore jurisdictions also provide offshore banking to a greater or lesser degree. In particular, Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man are known for their well regulated banking infrastructure. Some offshore jurisdictions have steered their financial sectors away from offshore banking, as difficult to properly regulate and liable to give rise to financial scandal.

Weakened Bank Secrecy

Since starting to survey offshore jurisdictions on April 2, 2009, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development OECD at the forefront of a crackdown on tax evasion, won't object to governments using stolen bank data to track down tax cheats in offshore centers. The recent sharing of confidential UBS bank details about 285 clients suspected of willful tax evasion by the United States Internal Revenue Service was ruled a violation of both Swiss law and the country’s constitution by a Swiss federal administrative court. Nevertheless, OECD has removed 18 countries, including Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Luxembourg, from a so-called "grey list" of nations that did not offer sufficient tax transparency, and has re-categorized them as “white list” nations. Countries that do not comply may face sanctions.

A notable exception is Panama, whose canal is currently needed by all Western nations, provides it with a unique type of immunity to international pressure. Given the enlargement of the canal to accommodate larger shipping, it is unlikely in the foreseeable future that Panama would likely succumb to international pressure toward transparency.