The BE-180 Benchmark Survey of Financial Services Transactions between U.S. Financial Services Providers and Foreign Persons will be conducted covering fiscal year 2019. All legal authorities, provisions, definitions, and requirements contained in §§801.1 and 801.2 and 801.4 through 801.6 are applicable to this survey. Specific additional rules and regulations for the BE-180 survey are given in paragraphs (a) through (e) of this section. More detailed instructions are given on the report form and in instructions accompanying the report form.

(a) Response required. A response is required from persons subject to the reporting requirements of the BE-180 Benchmark Survey of Financial Services Transactions between U.S. Financial Services Providers and Foreign Persons—2019, contained herein, whether or not they are contacted by BEA. Also, a person, or its agent, that is contacted by BEA about reporting on this survey, either by sending a report form or by written inquiry, must respond in writing pursuant to this section. This may be accomplished by:

(1) Completing and returning the BE-180 by the due date of the survey; or

(2) If exempt, by completing the determination of reporting status section of the BE-180 survey and returning it to BEA by the due date of the survey.

(b) Who must report. A BE-180 report is required of each U.S. person that is a financial services provider or intermediary, or whose consolidated U.S. enterprise includes a separately organized subsidiary, or part, that is a financial services provider or intermediary, and that had financial services transactions with foreign persons in the categories covered by the survey during its 2019 fiscal year.

(c) BE-180 definition of financial services provider. The definition of financial services provider used for this survey is identical to the definition of the term as used in the North American Industry Classification System, United States, 2012, Sector 52-Finance and Insurance, and holding companies that own or influence, and are principally engaged in making management decisions for these firms (part of Sector 55-Management of Companies and Enterprises). For example, companies and/or subsidiaries and other separable parts of companies in the following industries are defined as financial services providers: Depository credit intermediation and related activities (including commercial banking, savings institutions, credit unions, and other depository credit intermediation); non-depository credit intermediation (including credit card issuing, sales financing, and other non-depository credit intermediation); activities related to credit intermediation (including mortgage and nonmortgage loan brokers, financial transactions processing, reserve, and clearinghouse activities, and other activities related to credit intermediation); securities and commodity contracts intermediation and brokerage (including investment banking and securities dealing, securities brokerage, commodity contracts and dealing, and commodity contracts brokerage); securities and commodity exchanges; other financial investment activities (including miscellaneous intermediation, portfolio management, investment advice, and all other financial investment activities); insurance carriers; insurance agencies, brokerages, and other insurance related activities; insurance and employee benefit funds (including pension funds, health and welfare funds, and other insurance funds); other investment pools and funds (including open-end investment funds, trusts, estates, and agency accounts, real estate investment trusts, and other financial vehicles); and holding companies that own, or influence the management decisions of, firms principally engaged in the aforementioned activities.

(d) What must be reported.

(1) A U.S. person that had combined sales to, or purchases from, foreign persons that exceeded $3 million in the financial services categories covered by the survey during its 2019 fiscal year, on an accrual basis, is required to provide data on total sales and/or purchases of each of the covered types of financial services and must disaggregate the totals by country and by relationship to the foreign transactor (foreign affiliate, foreign parent group, or unaffiliated). The determination of whether a U.S. financial services provider is subject to this reporting requirement can be based on the judgment of knowledgeable persons in a company who can identify reportable transactions on a recall basis, with a reasonable degree of certainty, without conducting a detailed manual records search.

(2) A U.S. person that had combined sales to, or purchases from, foreign persons that were $3 million or less in the financial services categories covered by the survey during its 2019 fiscal year, on an accrual basis, is required to provide the total sales and/or purchases for each type of transaction in which they engaged. The $3 million threshold for sales and purchases should be applied to financial services transactions with foreign persons by all parts of the consolidated domestic U.S. Reporter. Because the $3 million threshold applies separately to sales and purchases, the mandatory reporting requirement may apply only to sales, only to purchases, or to both.

(e) Voluntary reporting of financial services transactions. If, during fiscal year 2019, combined sales and purchases were $3 million or less, on an accrual basis, the U.S. person may, in addition to providing the required total for each type of transaction, report sales at a country and affiliation level of detail on the applicable mandatory schedule(s). The estimates can be judgmental, that is, based on recall, without conducting a detailed records search.

(f) Exemption claims. Any U.S. person that receives the BE-180 survey form from BEA, but is not subject to the reporting requirements, must file an exemption claim by completing the determination of reporting status section of the BE-180 survey and returning it to BEA by the due date of the survey. This requirement is necessary to ensure compliance with reporting requirements and efficient administration of the Act by eliminating unnecessary follow-up contact.

(g) Covered types of financial services. Financial services covered by the BE-180 survey consist of transactions between U.S. financial services companies and foreign persons for:

(1) Brokerage services related to equity transactions;

(2) Other brokerage services;

(3) Underwriting and private placement services related to equity transactions;

(4) Underwriting and private placement services related to debt transactions;

(5) Financial management services;

(6) Credit-related services, except credit card services;

(7) Credit card services;

(8) Financial advisory and custody services;

(9) Securities lending services;

(10) Electronic funds transfer services; and

(11) Other financial services.

(h) Due date. A fully completed and certified BE-180 report, or qualifying exemption claim with the determination of reporting status section completed, is due to be filed with BEA not later than September 30, 2020 (or by October 30, 2020 for respondents that use BEA's eFile system).

[85 FR 31052, May 22, 2020]