Bermuda Banking Official Says MasterCard Ruling Will Have Little Impact

by Carla Johnson, Investors Offshore.com

30 August 2002

Speaking to the Royal Gazette this week, Bank of Butterfield senior vice president, Lloyd Wiggan predicted that the recent decision to allow the US Internal Revenue Service access to MasterCard records for offshore bank accounts in some 30 countries will have 'very little' impact on Bermuda's banking sector.

'Bank of Butterfield is a Bermuda-based community bank that issues credit and debit cards to Bermudian customers and other nationals resident in Bermuda. We have a tiny handful of cardholders with US addresses but the majority of these are Bermudians studying abroad or on secondment overseas, or who have some other connection with Bermuda.'

Mr Wiggan told the newspaper that he expected the situation to be similar with regard to the majority of Bermuda's other banks, and cited the existing information exchange agreement between the United States and Bermuda as one possible reason why the jurisdiction has not attracted many US citizens looking to evade taxes.

'Bermuda has had an exchange of information agreement with the USA on tax matters since 1986, so the IRS already has the means to obtain information from Bermuda banks regarding suspected US tax evaders,' he explained.

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