26 April 2023

Cecabank and WTax sign a collaboration agreement to process legal tax claims in other jurisdictions

This new service expands the value chain for fund managers depositing with Cecabank, and offers a competitive advantage when safeguarding the interests of their stakeholders

This alliance transforms the processing of tax refunds, increases efficiency and expands the percentage of amounts recoverable from investment and pension funds

MADRID, 26 APRIL 2023.- Cecabank, Spain's benchmark custodian and depositary bank, and WTax, the world's leading provider of tax refund services, have signed an agreement to provide comprehensive direct processing solutions for Cecabank's custodian tax services.

Cecabank has begun to offer this solution to fund managers who already hold deposits with the bank and, depending on the type of vehicle (investment funds, pension funds, SICAV or voluntary contribution pension schemes -EPSV-), it allows them to claim tax refunds in European markets where the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) applies.

The agreement with WTax will allow Cecabank and its customers to have automatic access to digitalised tax refund mechanisms, including additional coverage in tax services, which will increase the final amounts of tax refunds on investments that can be recovered. In addition, thanks to speed-to-market and automated point-to-point process flows, efficiency and transparency are increased, reducing risks for Cecabank's customers.

"The fundamental objective of Cecabank is to accompany our customers as they embark on their business expansion, offering them the best solutions in line with the latest market trends", says Aurora Cuadros, Corporate Director of Securities Services at Cecabank.

For Aurora, "this implies a process of ongoing improvement that allows us to offer increasingly transparent services. The alliance developed with WTax is part of Cecabank's value-added strategy to offer enhanced services related to the Securities Services value chain, bringing customers one major step closer to optimising tax refund flows. This, in turn, gives our customers the opportunity to add a greater level of predictability to their operational flows which ultimately contributes to bottom-line growth".

"With increasing digitalisation, current tax processing is often obsolete in the globalised environment of cross-border investments. Cecabank's commitment to improving customer experience is reflected in its tax product strategy and its collaboration with WTax.  We look forward to supporting Cecabank so that it can offer its customers access to withholding tax refunds in non-standard markets and ensure a better recovery period", explains Daniel Ginsburg, CEO of WTax. "WTax's service solutions for Securities Services providers are based on our in-depth knowledge of the industry and our investment in the automation of tax processing. These solutions provide multiple benefits to the existing tax service models that custodians currently offer and allow WTax to support them with a proactive approach to the constantly changing international tax laws and increased regulatory oversight, all complemented by our agile technology".

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