Key Takeaways

  • U.S. financial services providers who transacted in financial services with non-U.S. persons in the 2024 fiscal year may be required to file the Benchmark Survey of Financial Services Transactions Between U.S. Financial Services Providers and Foreign Persons (BE-180) by July 31, 2025 (unless they obtain an extension).
  • This mandatory survey, administered every five years by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), covers financial services providers who sell or purchase financial services to or from non-U.S. persons.  

Filing Deadlines

If required to file BE-180, a reporter must submit the report by July 31, 2025, through the BEA’s electronic filing system or by mail or fax.

The BEA may consider requests for an extension of the filing deadline if received prior to July 31, 2025.

Reporting Entities and Reportable Transactions

Financial services providers include, among others, investment advisers and investment vehicles (including mutual funds, private funds, pension funds and real estate investment trusts).1

Reportable transactions generally include transactions in financial services between U.S. financial services providers and non-U.S. persons. Reportable transactions cover a variety of payments made or received by financial services providers that engage in cross-border activities, including advisory or sub-advisory fees, brokerage expenses, custodial fees and securities lending fees.2

BE-180 collects data on cross-border purchases or sales that occurred or were charged during the reporter’s 2024 fiscal year. Data must be reported according to (1) the country of the counterparty and (2) the relationship between the reporter and the counterparty (e.g., affiliated or unaffiliated).

Reporting Thresholds

BE-180 is a mandatory filing for any U.S. financial services provider that had cross-border purchases or sales of financial services (as described above) during its 2024 fiscal year. However, only those reporters whose aggregate purchases or sales exceeded $3 million are required to complete the more burdensome schedules of the form, which collect granular data regarding such transactions. All other providers (i.e., those with $3 million or less in cross-border purchases or sales of financial services), are only required to report summary information regarding those transactions. In addition, any firm that was notified by the BEA must file a BE-180 regardless of whether it engaged in cross-border purchases or sales of financial services.

The $3 million thresholds for purchases and sales are independent and are reported on separate schedules to the BE-180. Thus, for example, a reporter that exceeds the threshold for sales of financial services but falls below the threshold for purchases is required to complete only the schedules relating to sales.

Penalties for Failure to File BE-180

U.S. reporters who do not file BE-180 may face civil penalties up to $59,114 and injunctive orders requiring compliance with the reporting obligations. Additionally, if it is found that a U.S. reporter was willful in its noncompliance, the U.S. reporter—or its officer, director, employee or agent involved in the willful noncompliance—may face criminal penalties of up to one-year imprisonment and a $10,000 fine.


Footnotes

  1. BE-180’s definition of “financial services provider” is identical to Sector 52 – Finance and Insurance – of the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS), and part of Sector 55 of NAICS – Management of Companies and Enterprises – including holding companies that own or influence, and are principally engaged in making management decisions for, such firms.
  2. Additional types of reportable financial services captured by BE-180 include, but are not limited to, management services, underwriting and private placement services, credit-related services, electronic funds transfer services, asset-pricing services, securities rating services, security redemption or transfer services, ATM network services, clearing and settling services, securities exchange listing fees, demand deposit fees, check processing fees, overdraft fees, mutual fund exit fees, load charges, 12b-1 service fees, hedge fund exit fees and crypto-wallet fees.