Federal Systems Not Designed To Collect Data on All Foreign Investments in U.S. Depository Institutions

Gao ID: GGD-79-42 June 19, 1979

The Federal Government has no comprehensive system to identify all foreign individuals and companies buying interest in U.S. banks and savings and loan associations. A review was conducted of the information collected by various Federal agencies about foreign investments and deposits in depository institutions chartered by the United States.

Several Federal agencies collect information on foreign investments for a variety of reasons. The information collected is the result of a patchwork of legislation, regulations, and procedures for different purposes, not specifically to monitor all foreign investments. Since the current means of obtaining information on foreign investments in U.S. depository institutions is fragmentary, merely improving the efficiency of what is being done now will not provide complete data. A new system would have to be developed for monitoring purposes. The most logical way to collect citizenship data from depository institutions is to have them report on a regular basis to their regulatory agency.



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