Counteracting offshore tax evasion: Evidence from the foreign account tax compliance act

This paper aims to investigate the effect of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) on the deposits held by US global banks through their branches located around the world. Using an unpublished dataset on deposits held by branches of US banks on a geographically unconsolidated basis, we find that the FATCA led to a reduction in deposits held in branches located in tax havens. We find that this effect is more severe in those jurisdictions signing a reciprocal exchange of information agreement. We also advance evidence in support of deposit shifting within the US banking system towards locations without a reciprocal intergovernmental agreement. •This paper investigates the effect of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act on US banks’ deposits.•The FATCA led to a reduction in deposits held in branches located in tax havens.•Deposit shifting occurs towards locations without a reciprocal intergovernmental agreement.