FATCA stands for Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, a US law that governs the taxation of accounts and other investment assets held abroad. Its purpose is to prevent tax evasion in the United States. Under FATCA, financial institutions must identify the customers whose information they must report to the US authorities. FATCA has been or will be implemented through local legislation in numerous countries, including all the Nordic and Baltic countries. Financial institutions must identify US persons, companies and corporations who are their customers and report annually on the accounts and investment assets these customers own directly or indirectly. This information is normally reported to the local tax authorities in each country. Nordea must comply with the requirements of FATCA in every country it operates in, and for this reason we must review all existing and new customers and verify their FATCA status. If we need additional information, we will contact our customers directly.