Cole, Robert, Special Assistant for International Affairs, Department of Page Desch, Carl W., senior vice president, First National City Bank- Dickey, William L., Deputy Assistant Secretary, Department of the Froy, Henri L., chairman, Foreign Committee, National Association of Haack, Robert W., president, New York Stock Exchange- Haberkern, Roy, partner, Millbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy- Lee, John F., executive vice president, New York Clearing House Associa- Leval, Pierre- 268 73 McGehee, C. Coleman, president, First and Merchants National Bank.-- 227 Mehan, Bernard, Special Assistant, Compliance Staff, Internal Revenue 147 Pearce, Ira H., Special Counsel, Securities and Exchange Commission -- 73 Pollack, Irving M., Director, Division of Trading and Markets, Securities Rossides, Eugene T., Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and 147 56, 147 Seymour, Whitney North Jr., U.S. Attorney, Southern District of New Shipley, Carl L.-- 310 and Markets, Securities and Exchange Commission. Wilson, Frank J., vice president and associate counsel, National Association Wilson, Robert W., Robert W. Wilson Investments, New York. Wilson, Will, Assistant Attorney General, Department of Justice. 73 American Bankers Association, statement of C. Coleman McGehee- Association of Stock Exchange Firms, statement of - Member banks arranged by States and cities_ Statement regarding S. 3678 and H.R. 15073. William Boyd, president, statement of Cocchi, Raymond W., president, Independent Broker-Dealers Trade Association, letter to Senator Proxmire--- Court of Appeals, State of California, opinion in Summers v. Surety Savings First and Merchants National Bank, Richmond, Va., statement of C. First City National Bank of New York, monthly economic letter of, reprint First National City Bank of New York: Carl W. Desch, senior vice president: Answers to questions proposed by Senator Bennett.. Answers to questions proposed by Senator Proxmire-- Foreign-Owned Banks Committee: Herron, S. Davidson, Jr., financial vice president, IN A Corp., statement of. INA Corp., statement of S. Davidson Herron, Jr., financial vice president- Independent Broker-Dealers Trade Association, letter to Senator Prox- Metz, Robert, reprint of articles by, in the New York Times.- 346 329 330 National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc.: Frank J. Wilson, vice president, statement of.. Henri L. Froy, chairman, foreign committee: Reprint of cablegram from... National League for Privacy in Bank Accounts, letter to Senate Banking New York Clearing House: Desch, Carl W., statement of Reprint of bill S. 3678 with suggested changes Donald L. Calvin, vice president: International transactions (table). Supplemental memorandum.-- Jr., senior vice president.-- letter to Senate Banking Committee.- Comparative financial statement—50 percent net long position with maximum gross positions (table) -- Short Selling-Ban Is Urged.. To the Defense of Short Selling- S. 3678, reprint of, with suggested amendments submitted by the New Securities and Exchange Commission: Budge, Hamer H., Chairman, prepared statement- Investment company holdings of the Fund of Funds, Ltd. (table). Management company holdings of the Fund of Funds, Ltd. (table). Reprint of advertisement from the Wall Street Journal.. Testimony before the House Banking and Currency Committee: Combined holdings, FOF Prop. Funds, Ltd., ITT Fund, Fond- italia, IOS Venture Fund of Canada, IOS International Ven- tures Fund, and Regents Fund (table). Seymour, Whitney North, Jr., prepared statement- State of California... Proposals for recordkeeping by banks and other financial institutions of international transactions. Recommended amendments to S. 3678 and H.R. 15073_- Rossides, Eugene T., Assistant Secretary, prepared statement- Transactions in U.S. corporate bonds and stocks reported by banks 130 179 CHARTS AND TABLES Combined holdings, FOF Prop. Funds, Ltd., ITT Fund, Fonditalia, IOS Venture Fund of Canada, IOS International Ventures Fund, and Regents 132 Comparative financial statements—50 percent net long position with maximum gross positions. brokers in the United States, 1954-69-- Page 329 290 102 165 103 FOREIGN BANK SECRECY MONDAY, JUNE 8, 1970 U.S. SENATE, Washington, D.C. The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, in room 5302, New Senate Office Building, Senator William Proxmire, chairman of the subcommittee, presiding. Present: Senators Proxmire and Bennett. Today the Subcommittee on Financial Institutions will open 4 days of hearings on the subject of secret foreign bank accounts. Our purpose is not to focus criticism on other countries or to force them to change their bank secrecy laws. Instead, we are concerned with the enforcement of U.S. laws against U.S. citizens who violate those laws. Secret foreign bank accounts fulfill a variety of legitimate objectives. But there is a growing body of evidence that Americans have misused foreign bank accounts for the purpose of evading U.S. laws or regulations. We are concerned, and properly so, about maintaining order in our cities and on our campuses. The problem of afluent, adult hypocrisy, delinquency, and crime is no less important. Each year the Treasury and the American taxpayers are cheated out of hundreds of millions of dollars in tax revenues by Americans who are able to conceal their income through secret foreign bank accounts. This situation is intolerable and must be stopped. We cannot convince the young or the poor to work for orderly change within our system if we continue to permit white-collar chiselers to flout our laws with impunity through the use of secret foreign bank accounts. Some of the specific abuses associated with secret foreign bank accounts include the following: Avoidance of income taxes on capital gains arising from securities transactions; Illegal manipulation of our securities markets; Circumvention of margin requirements on stock transactions; and Illegal takeover of U.S. industries by persons unknown to U.S. authorities. The circumvention of our tax and securities laws may be approaching massive proportions judging from the growth in stock transactions initiated abroad. In 1968, foreign banks or individuals bought or sold $24 billion of securities in our capital markets. (1) Nearly $9 billion of this amount of business originated in one country-Switzerland—whose banks can act as securities dealers for their customers without disclosing their identity to law enforcement officials. No one knows how much of the $9 billion in stock transactions was on behalf of U.S. citizens or whether any of those transactions violated U.S. law. Fuller disclosure is obviously needed. S. 3678, which I introduced with Senator Williams of New Jersey and Senator Brooke, is similar to H.R. 15073, passed by the House of Representatives. However, the Senate bill goes beyond the House bill in two major respects: First, it prevents U.S. broker-dealers from effecting transactions in U.S. securities on behalf of a foreign bank or broker unless the foreign bank or broker discloses the person for whom it is acting or certifies that it is not acting for a U.S. citizen or resident. This provision should remove the veil of secrecy surrounding foreign stock transactions. Second, my bill requires U.S. citizens who place stock orders through foreign banks or brokers to give the foreign bank or broker permission to disclose the person's identity to the U.S. broker-dealer with whom the transaction is ultimately effected. This provision will enable foreign banks or brokers to disclose a U.S. citizen's identity without violating their country's secrecy laws. In addition, my bill contains provisions similar to those in the House bill including the following: First, domestic financial institutions are required to maintain records of checks and other financial transactions under Treasury Department regulations; Second, unusual or sizable deposits or withdrawals of U.S. currency would have to be reported by the financial institution and the individual making the deposit or withdrawal; Third, movements of U.S. currency into or out of the country would have to be reported when they exceed $5,000 on any one occasion or $10,000 in any one year; Fourth, individuals who have transactions with foreign financial agencies would have to maintain records on those transactions; and Fifth, the penalties for violating the margin requirements on securities loans would be extended to the borrower in order to prevent circumvention by a foreign lender. There seems to be widespread agreement by the Congress, the Treasury, the banking and investment community, and by law enforcement agencies that legislation is urgently needed to curb the abuses of secret foreign bank accounts. Given this agreement I am confident that the details can be worked out and that an effective statute can be enacted into law this year. (The bills S. 3678, with report, and H.R. 15073 follows:) |