Financial Transparency Coalition

The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) and The Guardian have received troves of documents exposing the offshore banking activities of thousands of wealthy individuals. The information, which was leaked to the ICIJ, highlights the activities of a major private bank in the Channel Islands, a British crown dependency. According to ICIJ, the list of clients includes "donors to the British government, which has been outspoken against tax havens, and some of the most prominent people in British life."

The Swiss Federal Council on Wednesday issued a statement making it all too clear what it thinks “the new global standard for the automatic exchange of information in tax matters” should look like. This concerns the OECD’s ongoing project to create a new framework for international financial transparency, which we’ve written about before: while we found shortcomings, we welcomed the project overall. The OECD is expected to finalise its global standard in June. The Swiss position is a direct threat to global moves on transparency.

13 May 2014 - The secrecy surrounding thousands of subsidiaries created in tax havens by leading UK companies has created a black hole at the heart of the FTSE100, a new Christian Aid report warns today. FTSEcrecy reveals an information void which threatens investors, customers and government regulators, because it leaves them without the facts they need to make good decisions about FTSE100 companies.

13 May 2014 - The secrecy surrounding thousands of subsidiaries created in tax havens by leading UK companies has created a black hole at the heart of the FTSE100, a new Christian Aid report warns today. FTSEcrecy reveals an information void which threatens investors, customers and government regulators, because it leaves them without the facts they need to make good decisions about FTSE100 companies.