THE Global network for the automatic exchange of offshore account information continues to grow.

Yesterday, the OECD published a new set of bilateral exchange relationships established under the Common Reporting Standard Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement (CRS MCAA) which for the first time includes activations by Panama.

In total, there are now over 2700 bilateral relationships for the automatic exchange of offshore financial account information under the CRS in place across the globe. The full list of automatic exchange relationships that are currently in place under the CRS MCAA is available online. A further update is expected to be published in May.

The OECD also released the second edition of the Common Reporting Standard Implementation Handbook.

The Handbook provides practical guidance to assist government officials and financial institutions in the implementation of the CRS and to provide a practical overview of the CRS to both the financial sector and the public at-large.

Changes reflected in this second edition of the Handbook offer further guidance on the features of the legal framework of the CRS, data protection aspects, IT and administrative requirements as well as on measure to ensure compliance with the CRS. It also expands the trust section in relation to the identification of Controlling Persons and includes all frequently asked questions in relation to the CRS that have so far been issued by the OECD.