Swiss insurers are scrambling to defend themselves against possible investigations into billions of dollars of untaxed assets held by their American clients.As Switzerland continues to seek a data-transfer deal with the United States to protect banks accused of helping U.S. citizens to evade tax, a new cross-border law is expected to bring the insurance sector to the attention of the authorities next year.Tax-deferred life policies and annuities, once beyond the scope of U.S. tax collectors, will become subject to the U.S. Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act through agreements with governments across the globe. Slated for introduction in 2014, the law will force foreign banks and other financial institutions to tell the U.S. government about American customers' accounts holding more than $50,000.Insurers including Swiss Life and Vaudoise's Valor Life are trying to ensure that American clients who bought variable life policies and annuities can show that they have paid taxes due to the United States, eight industry insiders told Reuters.
Financial Institutions, Inc. (FII) is a financial holding company. Shares of FISI traded higher by 0.96% or $0.19/share to $20.03. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $16.50 and as high as $20.83. On average, 26039 shares of FISI exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 9702.
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