In his letter sent to the Minister of Finance, the Commissioner for Information of Public Information and Personal Data Protection reminded that he carried out an inspection of compliance with the law in all commercial banks in the Republic of Serbia (29) because of collecting of clients' data for the purpose of cooperation with the USA tax authorities in implementation of their FATCA and because of possible transborder transfer of data out of the Republic of Serbia. After the inspection of compliance with the Law, the Commissioner sent a warning that in the absence of a signed and ratified FACTA agreement, there is no valid legal basis or purpose for such data processing and particularly that transborder transfer of personal data would constitute a serious, punishable offence under Article 57 of the Law on Personal Data Protection.

The Commissioner forwarded to the Minister of Finance the letter sent to him by the Association of Serbian Banks after completion of an inspection of compliance with the law, in which the Association expressed its understanding for the Commissioner's opinion and also voiced its concern that some very unpleasant consequences could result from actions of other competent public authorities (or rather their failure to act). In that regard, the Commissioner said the letter could not change his opinion, since it was based on undisputable and clear provisions of the Constitution and the law, adding that he also believed that the possible consequences emphasized in the letter certainly merited attention of the Ministry of Finance and an appropriate response.