But must you file an FBAR even if the only foreign account you have is at a foreign branch of a U.S. bank?

FORBES: Even U.S. Branch Accounts Abroad Trigger FBAR!

To be reportable, the foreign financial account must be physically located outside of the U.S. For example, a financial account maintained in a foreign branch of a U.S. bank is treated as a foreign financial account subject to reporting.

FORBES: IRS Issues Final FBAR Regulations and Revised FBAR Form

Conversely, an account maintained in a U.S. branch of a foreign bank is not a foreign financial account subject to reporting.

FORBES: IRS Issues Final FBAR Regulations and Revised FBAR Form

One name that cropped up immediately is America's Citigroup, one of the few foreign banks with a sizeable retail branch network in Germany.

ECONOMIST: German banking: Death of a deal | The

It also won a QFB (qualified foreign bank) license in Singapore to further expand its branch network.

CNN: PLUS

Like several of the judges on the left branch of the court, Judge Sotomayor has said she favors a broader consideration of foreign and international law in U.S. judicial opinions.

WSJ: Sotomayor and International Law